The Philippines Department of Energy is pushing for a specific pricing system for renewable energy. With that the DOE is aiming to boost interest into investments in the sector in the country.
With the Green Energy Pricing Program (Gepp), the government aims to establish “stable pricing” to encourage investment, so Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella to Sun Star in the Philippines.
Witthe program, DOE aims to set a ceiling price for renewable energy players to attract and promote competition in the industry. This is to help expedite development. Final rules and guidelines for the program are expected to be released at the end of this year following nationwide consultations. The “green pricing” will support renewable generators to secure power supply agreements and sell their energy by setting a baseline price.
With the competitive nature of the sector it will be interesting to see what impact this might have on geothermal, as competitive pricing often prioritizes price only favouring intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar, that are not providing much needed baseload power. So far this new system will help pushing increased investment and particularly ensure long-term energy security will have to be seen.