The Department of Energy (DoE) is counting up to 6,274.37 megawatts of probable capacity from new project development contracts cornered for the exploitation of the country’s renewable energy resources, yet coming with a caveat that this forms part of the country’s long-term energy solution.

Energy assistant secretary Mario Marasigan has pointed out realistic scenarios as to the hurdles project developers may encounter in bringing the proposed ventures into fruition, primarily financial risks and the challenges on the technical front.

The energy official noted that as far as RE project financing are concerned, “the perceived investment risks are still an issue.”

In pursuing further technical studies, Marasigan acknowledged the fact about the “limited engineers and technical consultants” which may be able to share expertise on that front.

The players in the energy sector has also been betting as to the probabilities of the expected RE capacity additions, with some calculating that the final turnout may just hover at 20-30 percent of the initial calculations.

Of the projected RE capacity shoring up, Marasigan indicated that the bulk will come from hydro resources. With the 141 contracts in tow, he estimated additional hydro capacity reaching 2,670.40 megawatts.

The other RE resources with vast potential would be geothermal with forecast capacity addition of 2,388.07MW; and wind with 1,000MW prospects.

The others that may add up RE capacity in the short- to medium-term would include biomass for about 189.9MW; solar with 21MW potential; and ocean with 5.0MW probable capacity.

The planning horizon keyed in by the DoE stretches until year 2030, wherein it looks ahead to doubling the country’s RE capacity by adding up 5,355 MW into the power mix.

Of the contracts already under DoE’s sleeve, around 159 have so far been awarded; while 61 contracts are pending for review and eventual award to project proponents.

At this stage, the government takes up aggressive development efforts in the field by initially seeking the help of other countries which already developed expertise and have mature policies on the sphere of RE undertakings.