Solar Phl’s P24-B bonds due this month — DOE

The Department of Energy (DOE) is expecting Solar Philippines Power Holdings, Inc., founded by businessman and Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste, to pay over P24 billion in performance bonds tied to contracts terminated due to delivery failures within the month. 

Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of the Renewable Energy Forum on Friday, Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin said the payments are due thos month after the demand letter was sent a few weeks ago.

“(It should be settled) one month after the demand letter was sent. It was sent a few weeks ago, and it should be settled within the month,” Garin said.

“It went through the process, and we have given due process to all those canceled contracts and there was no response,” she added.

In case Solar Philippines misses the deadline, Garin said the DOE will leave the next step to the Office of the Ombudsman, Solicitor General, and the Department of Justice. 

“I will trust the decision of those agencies on what the options are for the DOE or the national government on what we should do if they do not pay,” Garin said. 

On top of nearly 12,000 megawatts (MW) of terminated projects, the DOE disclosed that it also cancelled one last project under Solar Philippines’ portfolio, the 30-MW Green Energy Auction 1 wind farm in Calatagan, awarded in 2020 to Solar Phillipines Calatagan Corp.

The project was scheduled for completion by 25 December 2025, with a guaranteed energy allowance of P4.1998 per kilowatt-hour. However, it failed to meet design expectations due to insufficient wind resources and was subsequently terminated, triggering performance bonds and penalties estimated at around P570 million.

Garin reiterated that all cancellations were carried out with due diligence and are intended to keep the country on track in meeting its national renewable energy targets, while also allowing the government to reallocate capacity and offer more opportunities to other developers.

To prevent a repeat of these massive failures, the DOE has tightened rules on applications, bond requirements, and contract terms.

The agency is also drafting a circular to enforce developers’ obligations on project delivery, outage management, and compliance.