A total of 147 renewable energy (RE) projects with a total capacity of 2,619 megawatts (MW) were marked as eligible to participate in the renewable portfolio standards (RPS) program of the Department of Energy (DOE).
Based on the DOE’s tally as of December 2021, solar accounted for 1,312MW or half of the eligible capacity listed.
Hydropower plants followed with 412.8MW, while wind farms have 409.9MW. Biomass plants have an eligible capacity of 264.8MW in the project, while 218.5MW in geothermal projects were listed.
In total, there are 62 solar farms, 36 biomass plants, 36 hydropower plants, seven wind farms, and six geothermal power plants – all of which are located in on-grid areas or those that are within the country’s interconnected power transmission system.
Among the eligible power plants include Helios Solar Energy Corporation’s 132.5MW Cadiz Solar plant and Victorias Milling Company’s 63MW Biomass expansion in Negros Occidental, Energy Development Corporation’s 150MW Burgos Wind Farm in Ilocos Norte and 140MW Bacon-Manito Geothermal Power Plant in Albay, and SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet’s 104.5MW Ambulakao Hydroelectric Power Plant.
The RPS is a mandate by the DOE requiring power industry players to source or produce a specified portion of their electricity requirements from eligible RE sources to develop indigenous and environmentally friendly energy sources.
The current RPS mandate is to increase their RE utilization by one percent of their energy sales annually beginning in 2020. Last year, the DOE was looking to increase the minimum level of contracted electricity from RE to 2.52%.