Hydropower and biomass installations will still be short compared to allowable caps set for their feed-in-tariff (FIT) availments.
Based on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) record, the total megawatt capacities of FIT-underpinned hydro projects just hovered at 210.35MW as of November 30 this year; while biomass installations were still marginal at aggregate 46.3MW.
The allowable installations for both technologies had been at 250MW, but apparently not too many developers have moved notches to corner the offered FIT incentives for such projects.
The biomass projects logged by DOE to have secured confirmation of commerciality include those in San Mariano, Isabela; Samal, Bataan; San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, Rodriguez, Rizal; and Quezon City in Metro Manila.
The FIT-backed hydropower projects, on the other hand, are those in Lagawe and Tinoc Ifugao; Penablanca, Cagayan; Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija; Libacao and Madalag, Aklan; San Remegio, Antique; Igbaras, Iloilo; Kabankalan, Negros Occidental; Baungon, Libona, Impasugong and Sumilao and Manolo, Bukidnon; Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental; Sta Cruz, Davao del Sur; and Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte.
DOE Director Mario Marasigan previously apprised media that many of the biomass and hydropower developers are no longer as interested in cornering FIT subsidies because their rates are already on parity with other on-grid technologies.
The proposed biomass developers, while they appeared teeming two to three years ago, had slowed down primarily due to concerns on sustainability of feedstock.
Of all the proposed installations, it had been wind and solar developments that had been swamped with FIT availment applications.
There had been proposal from the DOE and some quarters of the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) to increase installation caps for the ‘oversubscribed technologies’, but this was opposed by advocacy groups because it will raise the FIT Allowance (FIT-All) pass-on to consumers.
Onward, the policy proposition being laid on the table would be to eventually impose differentiated FIT system on renewable energy (RE) projects, depending on the scale of their capacities.
The FIT system’s initial cut-off would have been 2015; but based on the timelines of biomass and hydro projects, they will breach mandated project implementation timeframes. source
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