MANILA, Philippines — The government is moving to terminate additional renewable energy (RE) projects that fail to meet established work timelines, according to energy officials.
“We have terminated some. We are almost finished sending out the letters for the first 105 (projects),” Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara told reporters yesterday.
As previously disclosed, at least 105 RE projects are at risk of termination due to non-compliance with project timelines, 88 of which are either stalled in their pre-development phases or not advancing at all.
The government, however, did not disclose the names of the developers associated with the projects under consideration for termination.
“Even though we have already issued the first batch, we are still doing another review to make sure that there are no more projects that are delayed. And if there are, then we will again write termination,” Guevara said.
Once terminated, Guevara said the service contracts will be made available to new developers who can effectively advance the projects to completion.
“We want to make sure that those that are not moving can be removed. We cannot open those areas unless you terminate the projects that have been assigned to those areas,” she said.
She clarified, however, that developers with RE projects labeled as inactive still have the option to appeal and submit their motion for reconsideration.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the termination of these idle assets would “encourage more serious investments in the RE sector.”
“There are commitments, and so if they are not able to move, then the others who have the technical, legal and financial capability should be given an opportunity to develop the same,” Lotilla said.
To date, the energy department has already awarded more than 1,400 RE service contracts.
This aligns with the government’s target of expanding the share of renewables in the energy mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040 from the current 22 percent.