posted June 26, 2016 at 11:35 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
The Energy Regulatory Commission
vowed to review solar power projects that received endorsement from the Energy
Department to obtain a certificate of compliance and avail of the feed-in
tariff.
“We cannot just issue a CoC on the
basis on endorsement of other agencies. We have to make a determination,” ERC
chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said over the weekend.
The department granted 17 solar
power projects certificate of endorsement for feed-in tariff eligibility. The
projects have a combined power output of 417.05 megawatts.
The projects, if granted a
certificate of compliance by the ERC, will be able to avail of the feed-in
tariff of P8.69 per kilowatthour under the second wave of solar installation
targets.
“We will look at whether whether
they comply with certain requirements... People are waiting for us on these
applications,” Salazar said.
He said he received a letter from
developer Negros Island Solar Power, ir Islasol, seeking clarification on the
grant of the certificate of compliance.
Islasol is a special purpose vehicle
composed of the second and third solar power plants built by clean energy
developers Bronzeoak Philippines Inc and PINAI Fund.
Islasol’s solar projects have a
total capacity of 80 MW—32 MW in La Carlota and 48 MW in Manapla, Negros
Occidental.
“For Islasol, we referred it to...
market operations service. They want to know about the process,” Salazar said.
Islasol was not included in the 17
power projects endorsed by the Energy Department, although sources said the
company dispatched supply ahead of the other solar projects.
“If they are entitled to CoC, we
will have to see if they complied with the requirements. At the very least we
will consult with DoE,” Salazar said.
Philippine Solar Power Alliance
president Tetchi Capellan, meanwhile, said some of its members decried the lack
of transparency in the department over the issuance of certificates of
endorsement.
Capellan said some developers
complained of unfair treatment and sought explanation from the government on
the parameters of the issuance of the endorsement.
Citing data from the market
operator, Capellan said “three solar plants claimed they dispatched power
earlier than other DoE-endorsed solar projects.”
IslaSol 3, in La Carlota, Isla Sol 4
in Manapla, as well as another plant in Silay, Negros Occidental, delivered power
on or before March 8.
“Yet, these three solar plants who
appeared to have dispatched earlier were excluded from the DoE list, while
solar plants that allegedly dispatched later were endorsed for FiT eligibility
to the ERC,” she said.
Capellan said the Alliance would ask
the new energy secretary to conduct a thorough inquiry into the process adopted
in issuing the certificates.
“The new government has to resolve
the issue quickly. PSPA urges the new secretary to unburden himself with the
inherited problems arising from the build-first policy and start his term in
office on a clean slate,” she said.
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