ERC sets price caps on renewable energy sources

MANILA  -The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has set the final price caps for the Department of Energy’s second Green Energy Auction Program (GEA-2), with rates ranging from P4.4043 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P6.2683 per kWh depending on the renewable energy source.

In a statement, the ERC said it had approved the Green Energy Auction Reserve (GEAR) prices for solar, onshore wind, biomass, and waste-to-energy “after thorough and due deliberation.”

According to the ERC, ground-mounted solar will have the lowest GEAR price at P4.4043 per kWh; followed by rooftop solar, P4.8738 per kWh; floating solar, P5.3948 per kWh; onshore wind, P5.8481 per kWh; biomass, P5.4024 per kWh; and waste-to-energy, P6.2683 per kWh.

The final prices were announced after a series of public consultations held in May.

These will be the basis for the price offers of more than 100 qualified bidders who will participate in the GEA-2 scheduled next week, through which the DOE aims to auction off 11,600 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity that must be ready in the next three years.

DOE to bid out 11,000-MW renewable energy capacity

The bulk of the total capacity, or 7,620 MW, will be sourced from solar power; 3,720 MW from onshore wind; 230 MW from biomass, and 30 MW from waste-to-energy.

Various industry leaders had been pushing for higher GEAR prices, citing higher development costs, specifically for floating solar plants. These concerns were taken into consideration as the ERC deliberated on the price ceilings.

Last month’s preliminary GEAR prices ranged from P4.24 per kWh to P5.98 per kWh.

In 2022, the DOE auctioned off 2,000 MW of renewable energy capacity in the first GEA, awarding 19 contracts to various developers.