NREB seeks 2nd wave of feed-in tariff incentives for solar

MANILA, Philippines - The National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) is working on a mutually acceptable solution among power industry players for a proposed second wave of feed-in-tariff (FIT) incentives for solar power.

Solar companies proposed to increase the installation targets for solar power to 500 megawatts from the current 50 MW.

NREB vice chairman Ernesto Pantangco said the board is still conducting consultations with both renewable energy and non-RE players who would be affected if incentives are given to solar power companies.

FIT is a set of incentives given to renewable energy players.

Under the FIT system, renewable energy companies are entitled to the following rates: P9.68 per kwh for solar power, P8.53 per kwh for wind and P5.90 per kwh for run-of-river hydroelectric power.

“We did mention a price of maybe something that could be considered by the developers and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in their deliberations is something like P8.95 per kwh,” Pantangco said.

He said the group is still holding consultations with the intent of working with oppositors of what is an appropriate rate.

“The concerns are that at P9.10 per kwh, it may even exceed the 500 (MW) over a two-year period which is also bad for the FIT allowance so it’s got to be something lower,” he said.

Non-RE industry players said the P9.10 per kwh rate is no longer acceptable.

“We want to encourage (solar companies) but at the same time, we want to temper the impact to consumers,” Pantangco said.

As of January, the Department of Energy has endorsed 14 renewable energy projects to the ERC as FIT eligible.

The move is part of efforts to promote renewable energy in the country.

The projects – five biomass facilities, three hydropower plants, two solar plants and four wind farms – have also been issued certificates of endorsements (COE) and have a total FIT capacity of 304.051 MW, according to the DOE.

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla called for more RE projects, saying that the application process has been shortened to nearly 45 days from a period of 100 days previously.

He said since last year, the DOE has been increasing the number of projects given to COEs.

“This trend reflects the behavior of the energy sector as well as the entrance of new technologies that simplifies the construction of RE facilities,” Petilla said.

The DOE said that with the acceleration processing period, there are more private companies expressing interest in developing potential RE areas in the country.

The biomass projects given COEs are the 19-MW bagasse-fired Cogeneration facility of Green Future Innovations, Inc. with FIT capacity of three MW; the 14.8-MW Montalban landfill methane recovery and power generation facility of Montalban methane Power Corp., with FIT capacity of 2.175 MW; the 1.2-MW Payatas landfill methane recovery and power generation facility of Pangea Green Energy Philippines Inc., with FIT capacity of 0.876 MW; the 3.6-MW biomass gasification plant of Lucky PPH International Inc; with a FIT capacity of 3.60 MW; and the 24-MW San Jose City rice husk-fired biomass plant of San Jose City I Power Corp. with FIT capacity of 9.9 MW.