Conergy: Solar energy can lower power cost in PHL

by Lenie Lectura - April 3, 2016
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/conergy-solar-energy-can-lower-power-cost-in-phl/

CONERGY Group, a Germany-based leasing photovoltaic solution and service provider, strongly believes that solar power could definitely help bring down the cost of electricity in the Philippines even without any subsidy from the government.

“Solar can be deployed with no subsidy,” Conergy Asia-Pacific Unit President Alexander Lenz said in a briefing last week.

Indeed, the Philippines is among the countries with high power rates, but Lenz noted that the country is rich in solar power. Having said this, Lenz emphasized that in order to reap the full benefits, “deregulation is the key word. Everyone and anyone interested should be allowed to put up solar power.”

In the Philippines a provider of solar energy must seek various permits and certificates from the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission, which has just set a tariff of P8.69 per kilowatt hour for solar projects. This means that solar developers are eligible to receive the rate as an incentive for investing in renewable energy, such as solar.

“It should not be restricted by any regulation. A consumer must decide where to get it from, either from a distribution utility like Meralco [Manila Electric Co.], or directly from an investor that installs solar panels,” Lenz added.

In the same briefing, Conergy said it has completed 201 megawatts (MW) of solar facilities since October 2015.

Conergy is not a solar provider. It mainly offers engineering procurement and construction, operations and management solar services, project development, finance and asset ownership, as well as large-scale commercial rooftops, to solar-power providers.

So far, there are four solar projects in Luzon brought in by Conergy: 50 MW in Tarlac, 13 MW in Pampanga, 15 MW in Bulacan and 18 MW in Bataan.

The rest of the solar farms are in Negros: 14 MW in La Carlota, 48 MW in Manapla, 18 MW in Bais and 25 MW in Silay.

So far, Conergy has executed a total 274 MW of solar capacity in the country since 2013. This is equivalent to powering over 171,300 Filipino homes.

“Our mission to power a greener Philippines is also at the heart of everything we do, and we are proud to have delivered ahead of schedule with the help of our partners who share the same goal,” Lenz said.