Solar power too expensive, Osmeña warns energy board

Sunstar Network

MANILA -- A proposal by the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) to allocate 100 megawatts (MW) of the energy mix to solar energy will mean consumers will shoulder around P1.7 billion a year, the chairman of the Senate committee on energy said Friday.

Senator Sergio Osmeña III said the feed-in tariff (FIT) for solar energy, at P17.95 kWh, is too expensive considering there are cheaper alternative sources of energy.

For mini-hydro power, the FIT, is P6.15/kWh. Biomass energy, meanwhile, will have an FIT of P7.00/kWh, while wind power will have an FIT of P7.00/kWh. The feed-in tariff is an extra charge to consumers to encourage power producers to invest in renewable energy sources.

“The NREB proposal for on-grid solar energy is like buying a Mercedes
Benz when there are still Hyundais, Nissans and Toyotas available at less than half the price,” Osmeña explained.

Only energy from the ocean is as expensive, but Osmeña said the NREB only allocated 10 megawatts for it since it is an experimental technology. (Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)