January 5, 2018
THE Department of Energy (DoE) has
drafted a circular that will call for the extension of the feed-in-tariff (FiT)
for biomass and run-of-river projects, giving developers a chance to finish
their stalled plant construction and avail of the guaranteed rate for their
energy output for 20 years.
“We’re looking at three years or
until the capacity limit is reached for run-of-river hydro or biomass,” Energy
Undersecretary Felix Wiliam B. Fuentebella told reporters, without giving
details on when the proposal will come into force.
“There is a draft circular for the
extension for three years [for both technologies], whichever comes first —
capacity or date,” he added.
Mr. Fuentebella was referring to the
installation target of 250 megawatts (MW) for both biomass or small hydro,
which was set by the previous administration but was not fully subscribed by
the end-2017 deadline.
This time, he said the extension’s
deadline would be the full subscription of the installation target or three
years, whichever comes first.
Based on the latest DoE data, only
five run-of-river hydro projects with a total capacity of 34.60 MW were awarded
by the department certificates of endorsement to the Energy Regulatory
Commission (ERC) for FiT eligibility as of November, leaving a balance of 215.4
MW out of the 250-MW target.
The DoE has no update on the five
potential projects with a capacity of 82.7 MW that it expected to make it by
the Dec. 2017 deadline.
The ERC set a FiT rate of P5.90 per
kWh for run-of-river hydro. All five projects qualified for that rate. The rate
has been degressed in 2017 to P5.8705 per kWh as called for by the FiT rules.
For biomass projects, 19 projects
with a total capacity of 138.61 MW were awarded certificates of eligibility as
of November, or a balance of 111.39 MW from the 250-MW target. Only one more
project with a capacity of 2.6 MW was expected to receive the certificate by
end-2017.
Of the 19 projects endorsed to the
ERC, 15 qualified for the P6.63 per kWh rate for the first round, while four
qualified for the P6.5969-degressed rate for 2017.
The FiT system offers a fixed rate
for the electricity produced by developers of solar, wind, biomass, ocean
energy and run-of-river hydro power plants to encourage investments in emerging
renewable energy technologies. The first projects to be completed under a
prescribed power installation target are awarded the guaranteed FiT for 20
years.
Consumers who are supplied with
power through the distribution or transmission network share in the cost of the
FiT scheme in part through a uniform charge per kilowatt-hour that appears in
their monthly electricity bill as “FiT-allowance.”
National Renewable Energy Board
(NREB), which advises the DoE about the direction for renewables, earlier
recommended a FiT extension for biomass and run-of-river hydro. Both solar and
wind have been fully subscribed. Ocean energy remains a nascent technology. —
Victor V. Saulon
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