WT/UPI Officials from the Philippines Department of Energy announced on Mar. 11 that the country will launch the first Philippine wind power contracting round which is aimed at offering investment sites for development.

Outgoing Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez said that the wind power program will garner strong interest from local and foreign investors, adding, “With great wind potential as confirmed in numerous studies, the country aims to become the leading wind energy producer in Southeast Asia.”

Not so fast. Major issues yet to be addressed:

(1) You can’t bid wind into the WESM hour-ahead spot market since you don’t know if the wind will be blowing the next hour. This has been practically an unsurmountable problem in California. The solution in California has been to sell the wind energy to a third party that bundles it with firming capability to deliver firm bi-lateral power. Result: average cost of wind power goes up.

(2) You’ll need additional transmission which is typically uneconomic if it is used solely for wind. This too is a huge problem that California is still wrestling with. Result: average cost of wind power goes up.