The Department of Energy (DOE) is moving to terminate delayed renewable energy (RE) contracts, aiming to free up 130 gigawatts (GW) of potential capacity and attract new investments to the Philippines.

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the agency is “purging” service contracts that were awarded but have yet to progress from pre-development to development stages, Manila Bulletin reports.

“We’ll continue to purge. We’re just giving them the due process, the notice, the show cause orders, and all that,” Garin told reporters. “If it’s not moving, then they should not be holding those contracts.”

As of July, the DOE had awarded 1,400 RE service contracts totaling 130 GW. Some have already been granted to other developers or terminated, while others are pending action.

In July, Energy Undersecretary Mylene Capongcol said the government is streamlining the termination process and plans to reassign idle projects under the Open and Competitive Selection Process (OCSP), which allows these contracts to be rebid to other interested developers.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Asia Clean Energy Summit (ACES) in Singapore, Garin noted growing interest from foreign investors in the Philippine RE sector.

“There are so many that want to invest, and we’re telling them we’re purging and trying to clean up [the stalled projects], and there will be other areas that are more interesting [but] are not moving,” she said.

The DOE reported that, to date, 13 solar contracts worth 1,297.5 megawatts (MW), 53 onshore wind contracts, and nine offshore wind contracts totaling 13,183.95 MW have been awarded. The total number of contracts terminated this year has not yet been disclosed.

How will this purging of inactive RE contracts affect future investments and electricity costs in the Philippines? Share your insights. 

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