Biomass, run-of-river to be recommended for FiT extension

THE National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) is finalizing its recommendation to the Energy department to extend the feedin-tariff (FiT) system for biomass and runof-river hydro power projects, its chairman said.

“We’re finalizing our endorsement to the [Department of Energy] Secretary [Alfonso G. Cusi],” said Jose M. Layug, Jr., chairman of NREB, the agency that advises on the direction of renewable energy in the country.

He said his office recommendation is to extend the period for the FiT as he cited the industry’s recommendation for the guaranteed rate to stay for three to five years.

He declined to give an ideal rate for the extension but said the rate should be determined by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

“[The rates] depend on the determination of the ERC. They degress it depending on certain factors,” Mr. Layug said.

As of end-2016, the ERC had awarded certificates of compliance to biomass projects with a total capacity of 28.6976 megawatt (MW), or well below the 250-MW installation target set by the DoE for biomass plants, which convert agricultural waste to electricity.

That certificate serves as basis for the biomass developers’ collection of the guaranteed FiT.

Subscription to the installation target and the corresponding FiT is to end in December.

For run-of-river hydropower, the DoE under the previous administration set a target of 250 MW with a FiT rate of P5.90 per kilowatthour ( kWh). As of May 2017, only four projects have been built with a total capacity of 28.70 MW. The rate has been degressed this year to P5.8705 per kWh as called for by the FiT rules.

Under the FiT system, qualified developers of emerging renewable energy sources are offered a fixed rate per kilowatt-hour of their exported electricity, but excluding the energy for their own use. —