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Phillippines Pauses Renewables Auction Over Infrastructure Readiness Doubts

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The Phllippines has paused its fifth round green energy auction until further notice to redesign its bidding process, according to national media reports on Thursday, citing Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella.

The review will look at port readiness, permitting criteria and environmental and cost implications of necessary port upgrades, the PhilStar reported.

Fuentebella, chair of the auction's Evaluation and Awards Committee, said the review was taking place to ensure the auction is more transparent and orderly, the news website said.

The suspension would allow the department to more closely align the GEA-5 auction requirements, timelines and implementation parameters with infrastructure availability and regulations.

The auction process was already advancing, with a senior energy official confirming that nine companies had qualified and cleared some of its preliminary stages for offshore wind bids.

The auction had been scheduled to take place on Aug. 27 with results announced on Sept. 23 and it will cover fixed-bottom offshore wind projects exclusively, with a delivery window from 2028 to 2030.

The country has a target of reaching a 35% of renewables in its energy mix by 2030 and 50% by 2040.

The Manila Standard said that the auction process was launched on Nov. 25, 2025 with the publication of a notice and terms of reference.

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