Posted on July 09, 2015 09:36:00 PM
THE ENERGY Regulatory Commission (ERC) has started the review process for the adoption of a lower rate for wind power projects that will be applied in the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme.
The rate adjustment will accommodate the doubled capacity allocated for the technology, which was raised by the Department of Energy (DoE) to 400 megawatts (MW) form the original 200 MW.
In an order, the ERC said it will conduct deliberations on the P7.93 per kilowatt-hour (/kWh) proposal of the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB).
The proposal is lower than the P8.53/kWh originally approved by ERC in 2012.
A hearing for the case has been scheduled on July 30 and the ERC directed NREB to provide evidence in support of its proposed FIT rate.
The same order showed that NREB already submitted a letter, explaining several common assumptions adopted to come up with the new FIT.
“These include debt interest rate, local inflation rate, escalation adjustment period and Philippine peso to US dollar exchange rate,” the document showed.
The NREB also considered the total capacity of wind power plants built and commissioned or scheduled to be commissioned within the year, which was pegged at 393 MW.
The projects that have certificates of compliance under FIT were identified as the 150-MW Burgos wind farm of Energy Development Corp.; the 19.8-MW Bangui expansion of Northwind Power Development Corp.; and the 81-MW Caparispisan project of North Luzon Renewable Energy Corp.
The NREB assumed that the other wind projects that will be eligible under the second round of FIT are Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corp.’s 54-MW Guimaras wind project; PetroWind Energy, Inc.’s 36-MW Nabas wind farm; and Alternergy Wind One Corp.’s 54-MW Pililla wind project.
Under the FIT, renewable energy (RE) developers will dispatch the electricity generated by their projects at a premium rate over a period of 20 years.
The original FIT rate was intended to cover a 200-MW capacity allocation for wind technology but the Energy department formally endorsed the increase to 400 MW to accommodate more projects.
The endorsement was forwarded to the ERC last April 24 and since then, consultations led by NREB for the revised tariff was undertaken.
Rate adjustments were also made for solar technology earlier this year.
The Energy department increased the allocation for solar to 500 MW from 50 MW under FIT; which in effect resulted to the adoption of an P8.69/kWh rate from the original P9.68/kWh.
The FIT rates are guaranteed returns for RE developers, which are paid for by all electricity end users as FIT-Allowance (FIT-All) -- a separate line component in the power bills. Since February, consumers have been paying P0.0406/kWh FIT-All.
Lowering the FIT rates for RE technologies -- wind and solar in particular -- will attract solar power developers and at the same time, protect consumers from unreasonably high rates.
It will be the responsibility of the respective distribution utilities or the retail electricity suppliers to collect this charge.
Afterwards, the collections will be remitted to the FIT-All Fund that will be administered by the National Transmission Corp., which can apply rate adjustments on a yearly basis.
The Energy department decided to hike the allocation for solar and wind projects to accommodate the rising interest in developing projects and fast-track additional capacities ahead of the historical dry months that start March of every year. -- Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano source
No comments:
Post a Comment