Solar deadline not extended

posted March 14, 2016 at 11:25 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
http://thestandard.com.ph/business/201707/solar-deadline-not-extended.html

The National Renewable Energy Board recommended to the Energy Department the non-extension of the March 15 deadline for the feed-in tariff availment of solar power projects.

NREB vice chairman Ernesto Pantangco said the non-extension covered the deadline for the second round of solar power projects qualified to avail of the FIT rate, or those failling under the n“500-megawatt whichever comes first” policy.

The government last year approved the second round of installation target of 450 MW for solar power plants, bringing the total installation goal to 500 MW.

“[This] is based on the DoE circular increasing the solar installation target from 50 to 500 MW or March 15, 2016, whichever comes first. This was signed by Secretary [Carlos Jericho] Petilla two years ago so everybody is aware,” Pantangco said when asked to justify the request for non-extension.

The ERC approved a feed-in tariff rate of P9.68 per kWh for the first wave of installation target of 50 MW and P8.69 per kWh for the second batch .

ERC commissioner Josefina Asirit, meanwhile, said the total 500-MW solar installation target would definitely be subscribed [by proponents] “based on the numbers we’re seeing now.”

Asirit said ERC already started the inspection of the wind projects endorsed by the department.

“The FIT eligible COC [certificate of compliance from ERC] is dependent on whether or not they [solar developers] get the certificate of endorsement from DoE. Be that as it may, we are aware that the DOE is mindful of the subscription numbers,” Asirit said.

The procedure for the certificate of endorsement, or COE, for FIT eligibility is outlined in a circular spelling out the guidelines for the selection process of renewable projects under the FIT system and the award of the certificate for FIT eligibility.

The circulate allows the department to validate “successful commissioning” and affirm the date of start of commercial operations within 15 working days and issue the COE-FIT Eligibility on a first-come-first-served basis.

The department said renewable energy developers could request for a validation upon 80 percent completion of the electro-mechanical component of the project.

It said only RE developers with complete documentary requirements for solar energy projects, including a valid renewable energy service contract and confirmed declaration of commerciality, would be considered and required to send a formal letter addressed to the energy secretary for final validation.

The validation will be based on the approved declaration of commerciality, especially on the designed development scheme. Any deviation is subject to prior approval of the department.

Only projects which are 100-percent commissioned and in commercial operation upon final validation will be eligible for the COE-FIT.

The department said it would issue the feed-in tariff eligibility until the full subscription of the installation target. The certificate of eligibility will indicate the installed capacity qualified for the feed-in tariff rate and the actual date of commercial operations as basis of the FIT charge.