ERC reviewing FIT of hydro, biomass

By Alena Mae S. Flores – April 24, 2018 at 07:00 pm
from manilastandard.net

The Energy Regulatory Commission will review the feed-in tariff for biomass and run-of-river hydro projects after the Energy Department extended the installation target until 2019.

ERC chairman Agnes Devanadera said in a letter to National Renewable Energy Board chairman Jose Layug Jr. that the move was part of the FIT rules that called for a review and readjustment if the installation target was achieved or not, and if the cost changed.

Devanadera informed NREB of the “huge disparity” between the installation targets and the total capacity of projects that qualified for the feed-in tariff based on the ERC data.

The NREB is the implementing agency of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, which grants the feed-in tariff incentive to renewable energy developers.

Devanadera said run-of-river hydro had an installed capacity of 250 MW but the capacity with certificate of compliance for feed-in tariff eligibility was listed at 26.6 MW compared with projects with certificate of endorsement for FIT at 8 MW.