Transmission and supply availability issues are among the reasons why renewable energy developers lost interest in the second round of the Green Energy Auction Program (GEA-2), the Department of Energy (DOE) said.
In a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said that the level of interest from the private sector “dwindled” due to uncertainties.
Lotilla said that the availability of transmission lines was among the concerns raised by the private sector, as well as delays in the system impact studies (SIS) – a study by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) that assesses the capability of transmission lines to absorb capacities.
An SIS usually takes around a year and a half to two years to complete. Lotilla said this time frame can be a “detriment” to companies who would like to offer their capacities on renewable energy.
DOE said that it’s reviewing its options on the 8,019.24 MW of unsubscribed renewable energy projects for the period.
Lotilla said that the DOE will conduct focus group discussions with the private sector.
Undersecretary Rowena Guevarra said that the DOE will first announce the successful bidders on July 12, along with meetings with the auction participants two weeks after that, “then decide on the unsubsidized capacity.”
Lotilla noted that there are lessons learned from the GEA-2, following non-takers of biomass and waste-to-energy technologies, adding that one of the “sources of uncertainty is the stability of supply of waste, and that is actually within the control of LGUs.”
