Philippines suspends 3.3GW offshore wind auction

GIG The Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) has suspended all activities under the fifth Green Energy Auction round, putting the bidding for incentives covering up to 3.3GW of fixed-bottom offshore wind capacity on hold. The DOE said the suspension would allow it and other government agencies to recalibrate the auction, considering implementation issues that could affect project delivery. These include port readiness, permitting requirements, environmental and port-related costs, and possible global supply chain disruptions, including those arising from the conflict in the Middle East. The agency said the recalibration would align the round’s requirements, timelines, and implementation parameters with actual infrastructure readiness, regulatory requirements, and prevailing project development conditions. The winners of GEA-5 were scheduled to be announced this month. The DOE said last month that nine companies had passed the initial qualification review, out of more than 20 firms that submitted bids. Under the Green Energy Auction program, renewable energy developers compete for long-term incentivised power rates by submitting bids at or below the Green Energy Auction Reserve prices set by the Energy Regulatory Commission. The ERC has set the reserve price for offshore wind projects under GEA-5 at 11 pesos ($0.18) per kilowatt-hour. The auction is part of the government’s broader effort to develop the Philippines’ offshore wind industry, which the DOE estimates has technical potential exceeding 178GW. The agency has awarded 95 offshore wind service contracts representing more than 72GW of potential capacity. Despite its large offshore wind potential, the Philippines has yet to install a commercial offshore wind project. DOE data showed that the country had 450MW of installed on-grid wind capacity as of end-March 2026, equivalent to 1.4% of total installed generating capacity. All existing wind farms are onshore. The DOE expects offshore wind to help raise the share of renewable energy in the country’s power generation mix to 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040. Follow Us Bojan Lepic Bojan is an English language professor turned journalist with years of experience covering the energy industry with a focus on the oil, gas, and LNG industries as well as reporting on the rise of the energy transition. Previously, he had written for Navingo media group titles including Offshore Energy Today and LNG World News. Before joining Splash, Bojan worked as an editor for Rigzone online magazine. Read Next July 9, 2026 Fugro lands survey role on UK’s first offshore CO2 storage project July 9, 2026 OWC and APEM join forces on offshore wind decommissioning July 9, 2026 Petrobras strikes deal to bring 335 offshore wells into compliance July 9, 2026 BP plans withdrawal from Japanese offshore wind project July 9, 2026 Polaris lines up Vale-backed newcastlemaxes