THE Department of Energy (DOE) will conduct the Third Round of the Green Energy Auction (GEA-3) this year as part of the Department’s push for increased utilization of the country’s renewable energy (RE) resources and attainment of energy security and reliability.

The GEA-3 will specifically cater to Non-Feed-In-Tariff (Non-FIT) Eligible RE Technologies, i.e., Geothermal, Impounding Hydro and Pumped-Storage Hydro under Department Circular No. DC2023-10-0029 which provides specific auction policy and guidelines for these Non-FIT RE technologies in the Green Energy Auction Program. 

The GEA-3 will also include run-of-river (ROR) Hydro, which is a FIT-Eligible RE technology.

The indicative timeline of activities for GEA-3 are as follows: Publication of the Notice of Auction, Terms of Reference; Release of Price Determination Methodology for Non-FIT Eligible RE Technologies and Green Energy; Auction Reserve (GEAR) Price for ROR Hydro.

The estimated capacities for Non-FIT Eligible RE Technologies are: 699 MW from Impounding Hydro; 3,120 MW from Pumped-Storage Hydro; and 380 MW from Geothermal. 

The target Delivery Commencement Period (DCP) for both Impounding Hydro and Pumped-Storage Hydro shall be from 2028 to 2030 while for Geothermal, the DCP shall be from 2024 to 2030.

An estimated 200 MW of RE capacity from ROR Hydro is expected to be auctioned, with a target DCP beginning 2026 to 2028.

Through the administration of the GEA-3, the DOE is not only paving the way for a more sustainable future but is also ensuring a transparent and competitive selection of RE: facilities.