The Department of Energy (DOE) has collected 331 applications from industry stakeholders aiming to acquire the certification of their power projects as “energy projects of national significance.”
According to the DOE’s database, 293 applications were accepted while 38 were notified of their incomplete documentary requirements as of January 11.
There are currently 12 power projects identified as EPNS. The latest was awarded to Total Power Inc.’s 100 MW Sarangani solar-power project, which is in its pre-development stage.
Here are the 11 other projects: the Visayas-Mindanao Interconnection Project (VMIP) of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, Kalinga geothermal-power project of Aragorn Power and Energy Corp. (APEC), the 151.2-MW Talim wind power project of Island Wind Energy Corp., the 2×600-MW coal project of Atimonan One Energy Inc., Coal Operating Contracts (COC) 185 and 186 of the Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp.’s (PNOC-EC), the 500-MW pumped storage hydropower project of Coheco Badeo Corp. (Coheco-Badeo), the 650-MW Pagbilao combined cycle gas turbine power plant of Energy World, the 15-MW Masbate coal plant of DMCI Power Corp., the 1.2-MW biogas power plant project of First Quezon Biogas Corp. and the 6-MW Pangasinan Green Atom Waste to Energy project of Green Atom Renewable Energy Corp.
Under Executive Order (EO) 30, concerned government agencies shall act upon applications for permits in a 30-day period. If no decision is made within the stated time frame, the application is deemed approved by the concerned agency.
“It is the policy of the State to ensure a continuous, adequate and economic supply of energy. Hence, an efficient and effective administrative process for energy projects of national significance should be developed in order to avoid unnecessary delays in the implementation of the Philippine Energy Plan [PEP],” the EO stated.
The EO also expressed that CEPNS is not an assurance or an automatic guarantee of favorable action by the permitting agencies. It is a requirement for them to immediately decide on the applications for permits or licenses in the prescribed time.
