More renewable energy contracts up for DOE OK

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Energy (DOE) is set to award renewable energy (RE) contracts auctioned under second the open and competitive selection process (OCSP 2) before this month ends, a ranking official said.

“We are hoping by end-November we will award OCSP contracts,” DOE Renewable Energy Management Bureau director Mario Marasigan said by phone when asked for updates regarding RE contracts.

The agency has been finalizing the evaluation of bids for the 21 RE deals received last May, which should be finished within the month.

Once the final review is done, the DOE will finally be able to award the RE contracts, which was originally eyed in September. 

Last February, the DOE offered has 21 RE sites under OCSP 2. The tendered areas were four geothermal sites with aggregate potential capacity of up to 134 megawatts (MW) and 17 hydropower sites with capacity of up to 733.4 MW.

In May, the DOE has received eight offers for two geothermal concession areas and 31 proposals for 14 hydropower deals.

The geothermal power projects are located in Balut Island in Davao Occidental province, Amacan in Compostela Valley, Cabalian in Southern Leyte and Acupan in Benguet.

As for the 17 hydropower sites, six are located in Luzon, eight in the Visayas, and three in Mindanao.

Under the contract, the winning bidders will have two years for pre-development for less than 50 MW and five years for at least 50 MW. 

The contract also covers a 25-year development stage, which can be renewed for another 25 years.