The Department of Energy (DOE) said that its much-awaited green energy auction program (GEAP) planned for this month may be delayed yet again, as the agency’s talks with participants regarding the program’s rules is still ongoing.
The stakeholders’ inputs are being considered in the finalization of the department circular on the GEAP, DOE Renewable Energy Management Bureau Director Mylene Capongcol said in a BusinessWorld report.
Capongcol added that the agency is currently deliberating on the participants’ comments, which include the timelines of the GEAP activities for the first auction.
The DOE first announced in December last year that it was supposed to stage the GEAP in June this year, but deferred its target date to this month, saying that it was still compiling data back then.
The GEAP will adopt certain procedures of the current feed-in tariff program, except for the “price discovery” process.
Under the program, qualified renewable energy (RE) developers would be allowed to supply a portion of the power generated from their facilities to eligible customers, who may subsequently enjoy electricity prices below market rates.
The GEAP is part of the DOE’s efforts to achieve a 35% share of RE in the power generation mix by 2030. Based on the agency’s data as of end-2020, coal still dominated the mix at 57.2%, followed by RE at 21.2%.