DOE plans 25-gigawatt green power auction over decade
The government is preparing to auction 25 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity over the next decade, a massive scale-up intended to de-risk the sector and attract a fresh wave of infrastructure capital to the Philippines.
The Department of Energy (DOE) unveiled the decade-long Green Energy Auction (GEA) schedule during an investment forum on Friday, Feb. 13, outlining a roadmap that begins with the delivery of approximately 3,200 megawatts of capacity by 2027.
The initial phase excludes floating solar projects but includes 85 megawatts of dedicated rooftop solar installations across the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin told attendees that the government is relying on interagency cooperation to overcome land-use bottlenecks that have historically slowed large-scale power projects. By coordinating with the departments of environment, agriculture, and agrarian reform, the administration has pre-mapped strategic renewable energy zones to streamline the permitting process.
Garin described the strategy as a "whole-of-government approach" designed to reduce friction and shorten project timelines. The initiative aims to strengthen the bankability of Philippine energy assets as regional competition for green investment intensifies.
The government’s schedule is ambitious. Director Marissa Cerezo of the DOE’s Renewable Energy Management Bureau confirmed that the agency will roll out four distinct auction rounds this year, labeled GEA-6 through GEA-9. These follow previous tenders for offshore wind and waste-to-energy technologies.
The upcoming GEA-7 will focus on rooftop solar and solar-plus-battery energy storage systems in Mindanao. The subsequent GEA-8 round introduces more specialized categories, including “solar on stilts” and “AgriSolar,” in partnership with agricultural regulators, as well as canal-top solar projects managed in coordination with the National Irrigation Administration. The final auction of 2025 will be a multi-technology round covering biomass, geothermal, hydropower, and onshore wind.
To support the 25-gigawatt pipeline, the DOE released a comprehensive investor guide detailing offtake mechanisms. The compendium clarifies how developers can monetize power through the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, retail supply deals, and ancillary services. It also highlights fiscal incentives and the framework for renewable energy certificates and carbon credits, designed to ensure projects remain profitable despite the capital-intensive nature of the transition. Approximately 5,565 megawatts of the total target is slated for delivery between 2028 and 2035.