Grid Location Trumps Cost in Renewable Procurement Strategy
Source: Eco-Business News
The Philippines' renewable energy auctions reward the lowest bidder regardless of location. Projects win contracts in remote islands without transmission infrastructure to deliver power, leaving grid operators scrambling for costly workarounds while cheaper grid-adjacent sites remain unsourced. Procurement rules treat transmission access as a post-award problem rather than a cost component of the bid itself. This pattern likely repeats across emerging markets that mechanically favor lowest-cost bids without spatial constraints. The fix is to bundle transmission access or physical location into procurement rules, making grid integration non-negotiable before award.