Just as at the Future Energy Summit (FES) events, leading authorities and companies in the renewable energy sector are making significant announcements. Moreover, due to the high level of stakeholder participation, important synergies are being developed in the exclusive networking spaces created at these gatherings. FES Central America & The Caribbean (FES Caribe 2025) was no exception. Now, the series of meetings is set to begin on June 24 in Madrid, Spain, where the leading companies in the renewable energy sector will be convened—just as in previous editions (download the 2024 agenda).

During the VIP Networking Breakfast held on the second day of the event, Energy Deputy Minister Alfonso Rodríguez and Executive Director of the National Energy Commission (CNE), Edward Verás, provided further clarity on the development of renewable energies in the country.

What specifics can you provide about the new tender announced by the Minister?

Alfonso Rodríguez, Energy Deputy Minister:
“Yesterday, during the opening of FES Caribe, the Minister mentioned that we now have a regulation calling for a procurement process with distinct objectives. We all understand that one of the steps for conducting a competitive procurement process is a tender.”

Would it be this year 2025 and for 300 MW?

Alfonso Rodríguez, Energy Deputy Minister:
“We would like to clarify that at no point was it limited or stated by the Minister that it was 300 MW. Yesterday, the tender was discussed, and one thing the Minister did affirm is that this tender—or competitive procurement process—must take place this year. As a country, we remain firmly committed to supporting the development of renewable energies.”

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What model are they analyzing?

Edward Verás, Executive Director of the CNE:
“There is something that needs to be clarified, as it is not necessarily the tender model that can be proposed here—the same one that is applied in other Latin American countries.”

How would it be?

Edward Verás, Executive Director of the CNE:
“We need to sit down calmly, without haste—because at the moment we don’t have it—in order to develop a tender model for the purchase of renewable energy. It should be one where the off-taker, in this case the distributor, is offered a competitive price, because they deserve it, while ensuring that the project and the resulting figures from that tender make financial sense for the project’s construction.”

What do they expect regarding technologies?

Edward Verás, Executive Director of the CNE:
“The tender must seek to balance the falling prices of photovoltaic systems, and also, essentially, wind systems, while taking into account the significant price disruption in storage systems—which will also be an important factor in that tender. All I ask is that we patiently await this well-structured tender, which should be issued soon as the Minister announced, and then we will see the details.”

And in price?

Edward Verás, Executive Director of the CNE:
“The worst thing that could happen to renewable energy is for someone to come along and say, ‘I offer solar energy at 3 cents for a new project.’ We know that that figure just doesn’t add up. Here, we adjust with previous benchmark prices that suddenly made financial sense for the construction of projects. And that is why we maintain—using a phrase we coined on social media—that we are ‘swapping paper for panels.'”

Will those interested in participating already need to have an interconnection point?

Edward Verás, Executive Director of the CNE:
“Our proposal has always been that those who hold a concession should be the ones to submit a proposal to the distributor for a tender. This is primarily in the renewable energy sector; in thermal energy, it doesn’t work that way because there are many competitors for a single project. However, in renewables, we always advocate for multiple competitors for multiple projects, and the major issue in renewables is that I wouldn’t be inclined to grant a PPA to someone who does not have land or an interconnection point. Today, the mechanism to validate land use and the interconnection point is the definitive concession.”

So, will bidders be required to have a definitive concession?

Alfonso Rodríguez, Energy Deputy Minister:
“If you wish to participate in the tender, you will need a definitive concession. We are implementing this with the proper due diligence and restrictions so that only ‘ready-to-build’ entities participate. The only way to ensure that is by requiring a definitive concession. Inviting someone who doesn’t have any environmental permit in place—frankly, that won’t happen here in the Dominican Republic.”

Will every project with a definitive concession be eligible for the tender?

Alfonso Rodríguez, Energy Deputy Minister:
“When you have a definitive concession, you are not obligated to participate in a tender in order to sell energy. You can seek a client among unregulated users—and we say this openly, because part of our transparency is that you can log into the coordinating agency’s portal and see who is selling to whom and how the energy is being traded. This is a fully transparent portal where you can view the spot market every hour. Today, there are renewable parks with private PPAs that were built and financed with private PPAs, and there are renewable parks without PPAs.”

Will it be for new power plants or will existing ones be able to participate?

Alfonso Rodríguez, Energy Deputy Minister:
“The intention of the Dominican Republic is to continue meeting its renewable energy integration objectives, so it does not make sense to tender existing energy. Furthermore, the oldest renewable park in the Dominican Republic—the Quilvio Cabrera wind park, inaugurated in late 2010—has its private PPA; and the second renewable energy project built in the Dominican Republic, Los Cocos 1, also has its private PPA. Thus, there is no concern that already constructed projects would seek to enter the tender. I reiterate: a definitive concession, registered with the transmission company and the long-term program of the coordinating organization, is required to participate and dispatch.”

Will storage be required for the generation plants that participate?

Edward Verás, Executive Director of the CNE:
“Those with storage will have a greater advantage—and those with even more storage will have an even larger advantage.”

Will greater storage capacity influence the award decision?

Edward Verás, Executive Director of the CNE:
“It will be mandatory, because the issues of curtailment and the problem of excess solar energy during peak sun hours are realities. We simply don’t have the capacity to absorb that energy during peak sun hours; we are not even interconnected with Haiti by land. By sea, in Puerto Rico, that’s still just an idea. We have nowhere to channel that energy during peak sun hours. That is why I believe that the next project must prioritize storage—talk about storage.”

How will storage be remunerated?

Alfonso Rodríguez, Energy Deputy Minister:
“I want all the foreign investors present to take note—and they can look it up on the Electricity Superintendence’s portal—of Resolution 141 and Resolution 154 of 2024, which establish the economic regimes to compensate the installation of batteries through the system of compensation for primary frequency regulation and for both primary and secondary frequency regulation.”

With the arrival of this tender, what will happen to PPAs with the public sector?

Alfonso Rodríguez, Energy Deputy Minister:
“We must remember that we have more than six projects with definitive concessions and PPAs since 2021 that have not been constructed. Therefore, it is not true that a project with a concession and a PPA necessarily results in construction. That is why the Dominican State does not want merely to issue a concession and grant rights to an entity that, in an ideal planning scenario, is simply occupying space in a transmission network—we do not want to repeat that. Today, with concessions and PPAs, we have 300 megawatts reserved on our transmission line that are not being built. Thus, we will not accept the notion that a PPA is required for construction. We understand that most projects need one, and we want to facilitate that, but currently, they are not being constructed. The idea that a concession and a PPA equate to construction is simply not accurate.”

Outside of the tender model, do you think that projects can be developed without a PPA?

Edward Verás, Executive Director of the CNE:
“What needs to be said is that the tender model is the framework in which distribution companies purchase energy from a proposer. However, there exists an electricity market that is not necessarily tied to the tender model. Today, the process for obtaining permits to install new projects is relatively short, and we currently have more projects that can be brought to market that are not necessarily the result of that tender process.”

What would you say to those who claim that these projects are not financeable?

Edward Verás, Executive Director of the CNE:
“It is understandable that many financiers might say they need a PPA to make a project viable, but there are projects being built without a PPA. The Esperanza Wind Park project is being constructed without a PPA. The Palita II project—with storage—is being built without a PPA. Today, the Esperanza Solar Park, the Matrisol Zonal Park, and the Los Cocos 1 and 2 wind parks are all operating without PPAs. In other words, these are two completely different processes. It is simply not true that renewable energy comes to a halt without a PPA.”

What progress do you record with the PPAs signed in recent years?

Edward Verás, Executive Director of the CNE:
“Between 2021 and 2023, the Dominican State awarded 40 PPAs in a robust, transparent process—although it was not competitive because rapid responses were needed in the renewable market to meet the first milestone for 2025. Today, we still have about 12 additional projects under construction that received PPAs during that period. In other words, we are no longer under the same pressure we faced in 2021 regarding the financing of renewable projects.”

How much is being invested in renewable energies?

Edward Verás, Executive Director of the CNE:
“In 2023, we received USD 1.070 billion in renewable energy investments. We always say that tourism is the panacea of the Dominican economy—that’s true, as you know. However, we are also in a technical tie with tourism in terms of perceived energy investments, with renewables commanding the largest share. In 2024, that figure increased to USD 1.240 billion. Today, the construction of 18 additional projects is underway, many with PPAs and others without PPAs.”