The Department of Energy (DOE) has qualified nine potential bidders covering 12 projects under the country’s first Special Green Energy Auction for Waste-to-Energy (Special GEA-WTE), marking a high-turnout milestone that promises to bolster power supply while addressing local garbage management and flood control challenges.
According to the agency, all submitted bids successfully passed mandatory evaluation for bid bond compliance, capacity offers, electricity prices, and committed delivery dates. Combined, the projects offered 428 megawatts (MW) of electricity, with every offer coming in below the government’s approved auction reserve price. Winning developers must begin delivering electricity no later than December 31, 2029.
“This first waste-to-energy auction opens new opportunities to turn municipal solid waste into a productive energy resource,” Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said in a statement. “It is an important step toward encouraging investments that can support electricity supply while helping communities address growing waste management challenges.”
The auction drew robust turnout from energy and waste management developers, with projects spread across the country’s three main island groups. Luzon accounted for 10 of the 12 qualified facilities, led by Manila Integrated Environment Corp.’s 76 MW offer for its Manila WTE project and Pan Pacific Renewable Power Philippines Corp.’s combined 114 MW offer across its Navotas and Cavite facilities.
San Mateo Sanitary Landfill and Development Corp. and International Solid Waste Integrated Management Specialist Inc. each qualified two separate facilities offering 42 MW apiece in San Mateo and Montalban. Additional Luzon-based projects include Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Inc.’s 23 MW offer, LECRA Eco Sustain Philippines Inc.’s 13.8 MW integrated facility, and North Maharlika Energy Corp.’s 10.2 MW facility in Pangasinan.
The initiative also reached the southern regions, featuring Forza Development Corp.’s 12 MW Bacolod WTE project in the Visayas and a 11 MW facility proposed by the City Government of Davao in Mindanao.
For electricity consumers and local communities, the incoming waste-to-energy facilities provide crucial dual benefits. Once operational, the plants will feed additional power into the national grid to support heightened electricity demand during extreme weather conditions such as El Niño, helping prevent power outages for homes and businesses.
Simultaneously, the facilities will support local sanitation by converting municipal garbage into energy, offering an alternative waste disposal option during post-typhoon cleanups. By diverting solid waste away from streets and informal dumpsites, the program aims to keep urban drainage channels clear, directly contributing to flood mitigation during heavy rainstorms.
The DOE clarified that inclusion in the Notice of Award is not a final contract. Developers have a non-extendible 30-calendar-day window from the posting of the notice to submit post-auction requirements, including performance bonds, supply undertakings, and grid impact studies. Full implementation will ultimately depend on developers securing long-term waste feedstock agreements with local governments, obtaining environmental clearances, securing financing, and connecting to the electrical grid.
“Securing a place in the auction is only the beginning,” Garin emphasized, noting that the department’s priority is ensuring these commitments translate into actual operational projects that serve the public.
