Philippines to bid out 40 hydropower contracts

The Philippines largest single offering of mini-hydropower projects to the private sector is to be auctioned in the fourth quarter.

The Department of Energy (DoE) will bid out at least 40 prospective run-of-river hydropower sites for exploration and development. DoE is expected to finish the bidding terms of reference within the third quarter, which will allow them to conduct the auction before the end of the year.

The power projects, which are located in Luzon and Visayas, have capacities of 1 to 2 megawatts each. The government said bidders will submit offers that will be judged based on their technical and financial programs.

DoE Undersecretary Jose Layug has said the government’s installation target is 250 MW for the development of hydropower in the first three years.

“These service contracts are all still in the predevelopment stage so we will not mind receiving more bids. Under these contracts, project proponents will still need to conduct a two-year feasibility study to determine whether the flow of the river is sufficient for their project,” Layug said.

The DoE has awarded 151 service contracts with combined capacity of 2,506 MW for hydropower projects as of July. The 148 pending applications for hydropower projects have a combined capacity of 1.8 MW.