682 renewable energy projects get DOE approval

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government has awarded a total of 682 renewable energy (RE) contracts as of the end of August, according to data from the Department of Energy (DOE).

These RE contracts have a potential generating capacity of 13,574.68 megawatts (MW), the DOE said.

Installed capacity is currently placed at only 2,912.01 MW.

Majority of the awarded contracts are hydropower projects at 412, followed by solar at 104. There were 64 contracts for biomass, 51 for wind, 43 for geothermal and eight for ocean energy.

The data also showed 644 contracts were for grid-use and only 38 for self-generation.

Meanwhile, there are 242 RE contracts with a potential generating capacity of 3,786 MW still pending for approval, the DOE said.

The government data showed most pending projects are for grid-use, of which 167 are for hydropower, 51 for solar, nine each for wind and biomass, and two each for geothermal and ocean energy.

The DOE has been pushing for RE development amid the need for reliable power supply.

Under its National Renewable Energy program (NREP), the Philippines wants to increase its RE-based capacity to 15,304 MW in the next 15 years.

Furthermore, the DOE issued a new fuel policy mix earlier this year to have 30 percent installed capacity for RE. Currently, RE capacity is at 28 percent.

In order to meet these targets, the DOE has streamlined the process of RE project approvals by cutting down processing to 45 days from 100 days.

The feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme was also implemented, wherein incentives would be awarded to developers of RE projects.