The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said it issued the draft reserve price for the fourth round of the Green Energy Auction (GEA) involving 9,378 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity.
The ERC set the preliminary GEAR 4 price for rooftop solar at P4.7679 per kilowatt-hour, ground-mounted solar at P4.1480 per kWh, floating solar at P5.9515 per kWh, onshore wind at P6.5134 per kWh and solar with battery energy storage system at P5.2835 per kWh.
The regulator said the GEAR 4 prices are still subject to public consultations scheduled this month.
“All comments received by the commission within the prescribed period shall form part of the records of this rule-making proceeding and shall be considered in the finalization of the draft Green Energy Auction Reserve Prices for Round 4 of the Green Energy Auction Program,” the ERC said.
Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alliance (PSSEA) chairperson Tetchi Capellan welcomed the issuance of the GEA 4 price, but asked for clarity on the methodology used to arrive at the pricing.
“This clearly signals the commitment of the DOE family to accelerate the deployment of RE and bring us closer to the 2030 target of the government. Our technical working groups are still studying the proposed prices. Initially however, we noticed that there are significant deviations in the methodology adopted by the commission viz GEAP 1 and 2,” she said.
“The private sector simply seeks consistency in the application of rules. Meaning, the methodology used in GEAP 1 and GEAP 2 should remain unless collectively agreed upon by parties. This will avoid confusion,” Capellan said.
The DOE released last month the terms of reference (TOR) for GEA-4, which sets out the technical, financial and commercial requirements that will govern project selection, ensuring a transparent and competitive bidding process.
The DOE is auctioning 2,372 MW of installation target for Luzon for delivery in 2026 composed of 1,000 MW ground-mounted solar, 12 MW roof-mounted solar, 1,040 MW floating dollar and 320 MW onshore wind projects.
It is also auctioning 249 MW ground-mounted solar and 12 MW roof mounted solar for the Visayas grid and 120 MW ground-mounted solar for Mindanao.
Meanwhile, the DOE is auctioning 1,976 MW for Luzon for delivery in 2027 composed of 600 MW ground-mounted solar, 6MW roof-mounted solar, 920 MW floating solar and 450 MW onshore wind.
It is auctioning 180 MW ground mounted solar and 170 MW onshore wind for the Visayas and 30 MW ground-mounted solar, and 6 MW roof-mounted solar in the Mindanao grid.