THE Department of Energy (DOE) has officially released the draft terms of reference (TOR) for the special auction on waste-to-energy (WTE) projects, revising its earlier target power generation capacity to 170 megawatts (MW) from 330MW that could be sourced from waste feedstock within Metro Manila and Highly Urbanized Cities (HUCs) areas.
‘The 335MW earlier mentioned was the total potential for WTE projects but given some consideration, we will only offer 170 megawatts,’ said DOE Undersecretary Mylene Capongcol in a Viber message, adding that the these considerations are related to ‘project timelines’.
The drafted TOR states that assured feedstock in Metro Manila and HUCs can generate an estimated 12.4 million metric tons (MMT) of municipal solid waste, equivalent to a total of 170 MW baseload.
Per region, the chunk comes from Luzon (9,369.24 MMT in Metro Manila). In Visayas, 706.89MT will come from Cebu and 451.23MT in Bacolod. In Mindanao, Cagayan de Oro registered 542.88MT and Davao with 1,335.51MMT.
The target completion for these WTE projects is 2028. The special auction is expected to happen early next year.
‘The special auction round shall be conducted exclusively for WTE projects employing thermal combustion technology and are RPS-eligible and qualified under GEAP [green energy auction program] guidelines,’ the draft TOR stated.
As an emerging renewable energy technology, WTE project development is one of the country’s strategies to address solid waste management, serve as flood control mitigation, and provide additional clean energy.
‘Hopefully, this will help the flooding concerns in Metro Manila because there’s 13,000 million tons, I think, per day. We need more of this so we cannot just collect the garbage but also produce energy,’ said DOE Secretary Sharon Garin.
This initiative is aligned with the objectives of the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) and the government’s renewable energy targets of 35 percent in the energy mix by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
‘The integration of WTE projects into the GEA framework underscores the DOE’s commitment to ensuring energy security, environmental protection, and private sector participation in the country’s transitioning to clean and sustainable energy,’ the agency said.