The government is gearing up to hold an auction for offshore wind power projects next year, driven by increasing investor enthusiasm for this technology.
Department of Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara revealed that after consultations with developers, the agency has decided to include offshore wind (OSW) in the Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP) for the coming year.
According to Guevara, OSW developers, who have been awarded service contracts, expressed their preference for conducting the auction in 2024.
Guevara said that the structure of the OSW auction might differ from that of other technologies due to developers’ demands for increased reserve prices in the GEAP 2. She emphasized the need to rationalize the Green Energy Auction Reserve (GEAR) prices based on the specific technologies employed.
She highlighted the urgency of renewable energy development in the Philippines, characterizing it as a “mad rush.” She cited World Bank data indicating that the country’s per capita energy consumption stands at a mere 0.9 megawatt-hours, significantly lower than Thailand’s 2.8 and Malaysia’s 5.2.
To bridge this gap, Guevara stressed the need to expand the power industry, aiming for at least three times the current generation capacity to meet the increasing demands of a growing population.
The Department of Energy has already awarded more than a thousand service contracts for renewable energy projects, amounting to 80 gigawatts, which is three times the country’s present generation capacity.
Guevara predicts that the Philippines could witness the construction of its first offshore wind project by 2028, as the government works towards achieving its renewable energy targets.
