Philippines still among top RE markets

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines remains among the top 40 renewable energy markets as it pushes to develop more clean power sources through the green energy auction program (GEAP) to meet its RE capacity target by the end of the decade.

Out of 40 RE markets, the Philippines ranked 28th in the 59th edition of Ernst & Young (EY) Global Limited’s Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI 59), slipping by one notch from last year.

RECAI ranks the world’s top 40 markets on the attractiveness of their renewable energy investment and deployment opportunities.

Despite slipping by one spot, the country is seeking to add two gigawatts (GW) of renewables capacity to meet the 35 percent RE target by 2030 set out in the proposed National Renewable Energy Program (NREP), the RECAI said.

It was referring to the GEAP set this month, wherein the Department of Energy (DOE) seeks to add 1.4 GW of solar, wind, hydro and biomass projects in Luzon, 400 megawatts of biomass, solar and wind power in the Visayas, and 200 MW of hydro, biomass and solar capacity in Mindanao.

Late last month, the Energy Regulatory Commission set the ceiling rate for the first round of GEAP.

The Green Energy Auction Reserve (GEAR) price set for solar is P3.6779 per kilowatt-hour, P6.0584 per kWh for wind, P5.0797 per kWh for biomass and P5.4913 per kWh for run-of-river hydro.

“The recent release of the price ceiling for the first round of the country’s green energy auction is expected to encourage more renewable energy developers,” SGV & Co. power and utilities sector leader Jhoanna Feliza Go said.

The report also cited the recent 850-MW solar and battery mid-merit supply bid of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

Mid-merit plants are those that can quickly ramp up and down their capacity, filling the gap between baseload and peaking plants that run during peak hours.

The country’s largest power distributor negotiated the contract with Terra Solar Philippines, the original proponent of the said supply, after two failed biddings.

These initiatives, according to the report, are critical for the country’s proposed NREP 2020–2040, which has set a target of 35 percent green energy in the power mix by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

“In recent years, the share of renewable energy in the generation mix has declined: it sat at 34 percent in 2008 and is currently at 21 percent,” the report said.

Go said the country has also seen growing support for the development of renewables in the country.