2013/08/16

$70-M Ilocos solar plant underway

$70-M Ilocos solar plant underway
By Freddie G. Lazaro
MB online service (mb.com.ph)
Published: August 15, 2013

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte – A Korean company is set to invest at least $70-million for the construction of a solar power plant in Ilocos Norte – considered to be the biggest solar power source in the country.

Stephen Chae, chief executive officer and vice president of the Korean company EC Cobuy Philippines, Inc. (ECCPI) based in the country, said the amount is the initial investment of their company for the installation of materials and equipment for the solar power plant in the towns of Badoc and Vintar.

He said the ECCPI is one of the well-known companies in the country that produce materials for renewable energy plants such as the solar power with system on Hanwa Solar Modules and solar tracker, wind power with system on dual blade dual turbine (DBDT) wind generator system, and the LED lighting with higher efficiency and longer life.

“At least 13,000 solar panels are initially planned to be used for the construction of the solar power plant within the 60 to 70 hectares of land located in the towns of Badoc and Vintar,” he said.

“The power plant is expected to generate more than 20 megawatts of electricity,” he added.
He claimed that “this is the first of its kind, and considered biggest solar plant project to be installed in the country.”

As an initial step for the realization of the project, a separate Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) were signed by the local officials from the two towns that were represented by Badoc Vice Mayor Thomas Torralba, Mayor Arlene Torralba, and Vintar Mayor Jose G. Foronda, and Chae.
“We are honored to have the privilege to share another Korean technology here in Ilocos Norte,” Chae said.

Under the MOUs, the two local officials and the ECCPI agreed to increase electricity by installing solar energy products, turbo wind power turbine system, and various kinds of LED lights.

One of the two towns’ counterparts for the realization of the project is to look for the ideal location for the project, while the ECCPI will construct and provide the necessary materials.

It was noted that the project was designed to augment the electric power supply of the local electric cooperative in the province.

After the MOU signing, the ECCPI can now start the process of securing the clearance from the Department of Energy (DOE) for the construction of the project.

Upon the issuance of clearance by the DOE, the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the local officials and the company is tentatively set on October 18, 2013 for the approval of conditions for the start of the full-blast installation of the solar power plant project.

Meanwhile, Badoc town’s Vice Mayor Torralba disclosed that they had already the downstream of the Badoc Bridge, which crosses the Badoc River, as the site of the solar plant project.

Once completed, the solar power plant, Torralba said, will serve the households in Badoc town, and in nearby towns like Pinili in Ilocos Norte, and Sinait and Cabugao in Ilocos Sur.


“The construction of this renewable and environment friendly project is in-line with the vision of the national, and the provincial government headed by Governor Imee Marcos,” Torralba said.

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2013/08/12

Solar power best for coastal and remote communities

Power of the sun
By Manila Standard Today | Posted on Jun. 09, 2013 

Filipinos living in remote islands and coastal communities stand to benefit the most from renewable energy, particularly ones supplied by solar PV (photovoltaic) systems.

Proponents of renewable energy said the use of solar PVs poses a viable solution to the decades-old problem of electrification in far-flung rural communities that belong to the off-grid market, meaning areas which are not connected to the main transmission grid that powers the country’s main islands.

At present, off-grid markets are either deprived of electricity or bear the cost of high power rates because their energy sources come from diesel-powered generators.

Mario C. Marasigan, director of the Energy Department’s Renewable Energy Management Bureau, who was among the distinguished guests of the forum, said that with the use of diesel-powered generators, the country is actually providing the most expensive electricity in the poorest communities.

He also noted that to address this, the DOE has started its National Renewable Energy Program, which is a 20-year-plan to increase the use of renewable energy by as much as 9,900 megawatts by 2030.

Marasigan believes solar PV is the cheapest way of providing electricity to the countryside.

“If you try to account everything, including the cost of transmission, administration, solar PV remain the cheapest form of electricity services in the rural area.  Imagine a community composed of 50 households living 25 kilometers away. You have to connect the line to 25 kilometers to serve 50 households. You have to send personnel to go there to read the meters and after you read the meters you go to your office, calculate the bills, go back there to collect the bills. Just for administration alone, solar PV is already the cheapest,” he added.

According to Marasigan, to further promote investments in solar PV and other renewable energies, the government is offering incentives such as income tax holidays, ten percent corporate tax rates, duty-free importation of renewable energy machinery and equipment and other perks.

To provide a realistic transition to renewable energy, solar PV expert Paul Bertheau of the Berlin-based Reiner Lemoine-Foundation proposed that energy contractors in the off-grid adopt a hybrid system that can combine diesel-powered and solar energy.

His GIS based simulation model recommends a hybrid model, for example on Siquijor Island, whose power generation costs would not only decrease by more than 60 percent, the province would also realize savings of 2.8 million liters of fuel yearly. It would also significantly reduce its carbon emission.

“The technology solutions are available. The demand is there. What is really necessary now is a regulatory framework to allow solar PVs in the off grid areas,” he said.

Marasigan and Bertheau are among the group of Filipino and German experts who shared important information on solar energy in the 2nd Philippine-German Solar Energy Forum – Off-grid Solar Technologies and Solutions.

The forum, which tackled the potential of and opportunities for solar energy in the Philippine off grid sector, is part of the “renewables—Made in Germany” initiative funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) and undertaken in the Philippines by the Deutsche GesellschaftfürInternationaleZusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI).

Dr. Gunther Matschuck, GPCCI Executive Director, said the German government is sending their expertise in renewable energy to local shores because it can both solve the energy problem in Philippines and reduce the cost of electricity.

Philippine Solar Power Alliance founder Tetchi Cruz-Capellan, who also spoke during the forum, said it is high time power contractors invest in off-grid using solar PVs.

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August 2013 Meralco rate

August 2013 Meralco rate

The August generation cost for Meralco is peg at Php5.0479 per kW-hr across all consumption level (50-5000 kW-hr)

Graph 1:  2011 to 2013 the cost for 300 kW-hr for the month of August



Graph 2: Annual electricity rate as of August 2013 for all level (50-5000 kW-hr)


2.5

Graph 3: Monthly electricity rate for 300 kW-hr level from January to August



source: Meralco website

http://www.meralco.com.ph/customer/page-cusCare-billRates.html#


2013/08/06

Meralco customers now can sell excess renewable energy back to utility

Meralco customers now can sell excess renewable energy back to utility
By:  Euan Paulo C. Anonuevo, 
InterAksyon.com
August 5, 2013 4:23 PM

MANILA - Meralco customers who use renewable energy equipment in their homes or establishments may now sell excess electricity to the power grid.

Ivanna G. de la Peña, Manila Electric Co first vice president and regulatory affairs head, told reporters that customers who wish to sell electricity to the grid need only go to the nearest Meralco branch to apply.

"This is now an opportunity for them to sell excess power," she said.

Under the net metering program, consumers or with solar power installations, may sell the electricity they produce to Meralco.

The amount they generate, which would be based on Meralco's per kilowatt-hour generation charge, would then be offset from their current bills.

As of last week, Meralco already processed two applications from a residential and commercial customer, de la Peña said.

"Meron naman existing [customers with solar installations] kaso kapapasa lang ng Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ng net metering," she said.

Section 10 of Republic Act No. 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 mandates the ERC, in consultation with the National Renewable Energy Board, to establish the net metering interconnection standards and pricing methodology.  

Net metering aims to spur the use of renewable energy installations among consumers to reduce the country's reliance on conventional power facilities.

InterAksyon.com is the online news portal of TV5, which like Meralco is chaired by Manuel V. Pangilinan.


Meralco now accepting net metering applications

Meralco buys excess power of other producers

Details  Published on Tuesday, 06 August 2013 00:00  
Written by RICHMOND MERCURIO
Malaya Business Insight

Got extra electricity at home or in your office?

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s largest power distributor, now allows “net metering,” a system under which its residential electricity consumers as well as businesses which own renewable energy facilities can sell excess power to the Meralco grid and receive incentives in return.

Ivanna G. de la Peña, Meralco first vice president and regulatory affairs head, said that the power utility’s residential and commercial customers with renewable energy facilities may now visit any Meralco branches for application as it opens its doors to the net-metering program.

Electricity end-users which can install renewable energy sources like solar, wind, biomass or such other renewable energy systems not exceeding 100 kilowatts (kW) within their premises are eligible to participate in the net-metering program.

These end-users will be given the opportunity to supply the electricity they generate in excess of what they can consume directly to their distribution utility. The amount they generate would in turn be offset from their current bills.

“This is now an opportunity for them to sell excess power,” De la Peña said. “Of course, the applicant should have an existing installation already like solar (panels).”

The net-metering scheme is seen to encourage end-users to participate in renewable electricity generation and also empower electric consumers in the Philippines by allowing residential electricity consumers and establishments with installed renewable energy facilities like solar or wind to sell excess power to the grid.

Under the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)-approved net-metering rules, electricity end-users who are updated in the payment of their electric bills to their distribution utility are allowed to engage in distributed generation.

The net-metering program, according to the ERC, hopes to realize savings in the consumers’ electricity bills by allowing them to sell the renewable generations that they cannot any more consume.

De la Peña said that Meralco has so far received two applications for the net-metering scheme, one is a residential user while the other is a commercial customer.