DOE to unveil four more green auctions

After the 5th green energy auction (GEA) for 3.3 gigawatts of offshore wind wraps up this year, the Department of Energy (DOE) is gearing up to launch at least four more renewable energy (RE) capacity tenders so it can open wider doors of opportunity for interested local and foreign investors.

- MYRNA M. VELASCO

During a high-level panel discussion at the APAC Wind Energy Summit that was chaired by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara declared to regional peers as well as global investors and funders that the DOE will soon reveal new bidding timelines, along with the volumes or capacities up for grabs by project sponsors in the coming phases.

"By the end of this year, we plan to announce auctions number six, seven, eight, nine and so on — so that people will know; and the developers and bankers especially will know when the projects are going to come online; and when the projects need the funding," she said.

As originally targeted, GEA-6 will zero in on waste-to-energy projects, while the energy department is still studying and fine-tuning the timing, magnitude of capacity as well as the technology offers for GEAs seven to nine.

"We also need to pace ourselves in terms of the auctions that we're doing and when the projects are coming in — this way, we can guarantee that there is synergy among us in terms of supply," Guevara stressed.