The Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alliance (PSSEA) expressed hope for the timely holding of the fourth round of the Department of Energy’s Green Energy Auction Program this year.
“We are hopeful that the Green Energy Auction that will put solar into the grid and help decongest the transmission lines, will no longer be delayed. In fact, we trust that under the leadership of [Energy] Secretary [Raphael] Lotilla, no further delay will occur as investors are nervous about government commitment to achieve its set target by 2030,” PSSEA chairperson Tetchi Capellan said.
She said the DOE pledged to hold the 4th GEA contracting round this year, where “11-gigawatt target will be auctioned with floating solar occupying significant volume and solar plus storage addressing the grid issue.”
Capellan said she is optimistic of the continuing growth of the solar industry in the global renewable energy sector in 2025.
“Given the continuing production and innovation in the photovoltaic space, solar is poised to triple its growth in 2025 to 2030 from a global installation of terawatt level to date, with solar as the most affordable electricity, the most environmentally benign of all technologies, fastest to install as well,” she said.
The DOE announced last year plans to include other technologies such as floating solar and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the GEA-4 supposedly to be held in the fourth quarter of 2024.
It said the auction is designed to cover renewable energy and energy storage system (IRESS), a comprehensive energy solution that combines renewable energy technology with energy storage systems (ESS).
IRESS involves the integration of renewable energy sources with energy storage technologies like batteries, flywheel or pumped storage hydropower systems.
The agency said the integration allows RE plants to optimize their operations by storing excess energy generated during peak production periods and utilizing it when needed, thus reducing the required capacity from the grid.
The DOE said that by combining renewable energy (RE) and energy storage, IRESS enhances the stability and reliability of the energy system, enabling a more consistent and efficient supply of power.
The DOE conducted two rounds of auction which generated a total of 5,306 MW RE capacities committed to deliver power in 2024 to 2026.
