The Philippines’ Department of Energy has kicked off the start of its third round of bidding to further accelerate the development of renewables in the country.
A total of 22 pre-determined areas (PDAs) covering potential geothermal and hydropower resources have been identified and were presented during the launch to the various stakeholders.
These 17 (mostly small) hydro projects and five geothermal projects have a total potential capacity of about 150MW and will be offered to renewable energy developers deemed qualified based on criteria set by the DOE.
The PDAs have sufficient available technical data to serve as initial reference by those who are interested in acquiring the rights to develop the renewable energy resources.
The 17 listed hydropower projects are (in alphabetical order):
3MW Aklan River Lower East Tributary
2.4MW Aklan River Middle West Tributary
2.4MW Aklan River Upper West Tributary
3.2MW Amlan (Plant A)
800kW Amlan (Plant C)
52MW Balintingon
200kW Coyaoyao (Upper Cascade)
3MW Dalanas
1.4MW Dapnan
3MW Hilabangan (Lower Cascade)
4.8MW Hilabangan (Upper Cascade)
4.5MW Maninila (Lower Cascade)
3.1MW Maninila (Upper Cascade)
200kW Palali
4MW Sibalom (Middle Cascade)
2.1MW Tibaio
300kW Vera Falls
“We have obtained encouraging results from the series of online stakeholders’ consultations we undertook in July 2020 and that we are very optimistic,” said assistant secretary Robert B. Uy.
Meanwhile, undersecretary Emmanuel P. Juaneza reiterated the DOE’s commitment to encourage and promote the exploration, development and utilization of the country’s renewable energy resources.
“Secretary Cusi himself reiterated the commitment to promote our renewable energy, with the hope that in time, renewables will figure prominently in the country’s energy future,” Juaneza said, adding that the recent declaration of a moratorium on endorsements for greenfield coal power projects is a manifestation of the DOE’s vision for the country’s energy future.
The last day to submit bid documents will be 15 February 2021. Target contract awarding for non-financial and technical assistance projects will be April 14.
