By Danessa Rivera (The
Philippine Star) | Updated February 19, 2016 - 12:00am
Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada
said future developments in the RE sector would be based on the policies that
would be recommended by NREB, the advisory body tasked with the effective
implementation of RE projects in the country, as stated under the RE Law. File
photo
MANILA, Philippines - Renewable
energy (RE) developments may take a backseat in the plans of power developers
for a while as the Department of Energy (DOE) said it would have to wait for
the recommendation of the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) on the feed-in
tariff (FIT) scheme and the energy policy mix to determine the direction of the
RE sector.
Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada
said future developments in the RE sector would be based on the policies that
would be recommended by NREB, the advisory body tasked with the effective
implementation of RE projects in the country, as stated under the RE Law.
“First, we have to see the
recommendation of NREB. We need to balance the promotion of RE with power
rates, as well as our COP (Committee of Parties) 21 contribution,” she said.
So far, the NREB has finished its
strategic planning workshop although its latest proposal has yet to be received
by the DOE.
“They still have to fine-tune their
list of recommendations under the RE roadmap and what to do with promoting
further the 30 percent minimum RE share as ordered under our circular,” Monsada
said.
In June 2015, the DOE issued a
circular mandating a 30 percent installed capacity for RE under the new fuel
policy mix. Currently, RE capacity is at 28 percent.
Meanwhile, under the FIT scheme, a
set of incentives are given to power developers for investing in the more
expensive RE projects.
Initially, renewable energy
companies are entitled to FIT rates for other RE sources under the FIT system:
P8.53 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) for 200 megawatts (MW) of wind power production;
P9.68 per kwh for 50 MW of solar power; P5.90 per kwh for 250-MW run-of-river
hydroelectric power and P6.63 per kwh for 250-MW of biomass power.
So far, allocations under wind and
solar technology have been breached and cleared for another round.
In the second round, the Energy
Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved lower rates for both technologies,
P7.40 per kwh for another 200-MW of wind power production and P8.69 per kwh for
500-MW of solar power.
For wind, the power regulator
limited the entitlement of FIT rate for the second round to the 54-MW San
Lorenzo project of Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corp., the 36-MW Nabas wind
energy project of PetroWind Energy Inc. and the 54-MW Pilila wind project of
Alternergy Wind One Corp.
On the other hand, there are 13
solar-powered projects with a total of 360.41 MW in capacity in line to receive
FIT incentives under the second round of solar FIT allocation.
“Currently, based on the list that
will be inspected, the solar FIT allocation is not yet fully subscribed but
there are still developers racing to meet the deadline,” Monsada said.
Solar developers have only until
mid-March to qualify for incentives under the FIT scheme for solar.
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