DOE raises target for solar power installation under FIT to 500 MW

26 May 2014 
Written by Lenie Lectura 
businessmirror.com.ph

The Department of Energy (DOE) has raised the solar power-installation target under the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) scheme to 500 megawatts (MW) from 50MW, and may do the same for wind energy.

 “The DOE already issued the certification adjusting total solar-installation target from 50 to 500 MW and transmitted it to ERC [Energy Regulatory Commission] last week,” said National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) Chairman Pedro H. Maniego Jr.

The DOE is pushing for more solar- power development with guaranteed power rates in order to boost supply during the summer months.

 NREB is the body tasked by the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 to recommend policies, rules and standards to govern the implementation of the law, which granted fiscal and nonfiscal incentives to renewable energy projects.

The FIT, meanwhile, is the per kilowatt-hour rate that will be guaranteed to renewable energy (RE) developers to ensure the viability of their projects. Consumers will shoulder the tariff through a new line item in their electricity bills, explained the DOE.

At present, the committed capacity for solar power has already exceeded the initial 50-MW target. “Completed solar installations of Sacasol and Majestic have already exceeded the initial solar-installation target of 50 MW,” Maniego said.

 Just recently, San Carlos Solar Energy Inc. (Sacasol), a joint venture between Bronzeoak Philippines Inc. and the ThomasLloyd Group, inaugurated the first phase, or 13 MW of its 22 MW solar-power plant, of the project in Negros Occidental. The inauguration of the remaining 9 MW will be set soon.

 When asked if targets for other RE resources, particularly on wind power, will be adjusted, Maniego said, “The DOE and NREB will study possible installation-target adjustment later this year, once the commercial operation dates of the ongoing wind projects are definite.”

The DOE initially set the installation cap at 750 MW divided among run-of-river hydro with 250 MW; biomass, 250 MW; wind, 200 MW; and solar, 50 MW.

These targets, which are necessary for each type of RE that will qualify for FIT incentives, ensure the security of the power grid and electricity rates, given the intermittent and high cost of power generation from such sources compared with conventional plants.

Marasigan had said that the total capacity for committed wind projects has reached over 300 MW.

“As to wind projects, these are still under construction. The wind proponents must also show that their projects will be quick to deploy like solar, so as to augment the power supply and thus moderate the increase in WESM [Wholesale Electricity Spot Market] prices during peak demand periods,” added Maniego.