The Department of Energy said Monday it will hold the third round of the Green Energy Auction Program covering 4,650 megawatts on Feb. 11, 2025, with the exclusion of run-of-river (ROR) hydro technology.
It follows the issuance of the price determination mechanism from the Energy Regulatory Commission.
The DOE said it is auctioning installation capacities for impounding hydro, geothermal and pumped storage hydro (PSH) covering the period 2025 to 2035.
Among the technologies, PSH has the biggest installation target of 4,250 MW, with delivery period from 2028 to 2035 and divided into three lots.
The DOE said lot 1 involves 2,000 MW in the Luzon grid for delivery from 2028 to 2030, lot 2 also in Luzon grid at 2,000 MW from 2031 to 2032 and lot 3 at 200 MW in the Visayas grid from 2031 to 2035.
This is followed by impounding hydro with an installation target of 300 MW for delivery by 2028 to 2030 and geothermal with 100 MW capacity for delivery starting 2025 to 2027.
The DOE said it excluded the ROR hydro from GEA-3 in view of the ongoing feed-in-tariff (FIT) system for ROR hydro, which remains undersubscribed.
“Consequently, the Energy Regulatory Commission [ERC] shall no longer release the Green Energy Auction Reserve [GEAR] Price for ROR under GEA-3. The DOE will continue supporting and providing appropriate market mechanisms for ROR Hydro and other emerging RE technologies,” the agency said.
The DOE said it would issue the notice of award for GEA-3 to winning bidders from May 20 to May 21, 2025 and the certificate of award on June 6, 2025 to July 4, 2025.
“The administration of GEA-3, with the majority of the capacity coming from PSH, will pave the way for greater entry of RE energy in the grid’s energy mix, provide grid stability and reliability, foster a cleaner and more sustainable future, and at the same time ensure a transparent and competitive selection process of RE facilities,” it said.
The DOE earlier said PSH projects should utilize variable speed technology or VST to ensure effective reliability services to the grid or distribution system.
“Bids that do not offer such technology for PSH facilities shall be deemed not technically compliant. Therefore, any bids that failed to satisfy this requirement shall not be endorsed to the Energy Regulatory Commission,” the DOE said.
VST in PHS refers to the use of adjustable-speed pump-turbine units instead of traditional ones.
The DOE said this technology allows the speed of the pump-turbine to be varied through a frequency converter, enhances the operational flexibility and efficiency of PSH, making them more effective in integrating RE sources to the grid.
