Philippines: Biomass plants rated at over 37MW could qualify for FiT

Philippines: Biomass plants rated at over 37MW could qualify for FiT

SEVEN BIOMASS power plants are scheduled for commissioning or completion
this year, keeping them in the running for the reduced feed-in-tariff (FiT)
rate of around P6.60 for each kilowatt-hour (kWh) they export to the
electricity grid.

The projects -- four in Luzon and three in Mindanao -- have a combined
capacity of 37.1 megawatts (MW), latest data from the Department of Energy
(DoE) show. Should they be able to start commercial operations this year,
they will easily qualify for the P6.5969 per kWh degressed FiT rate for the
renewable energy.

"There are projects that are being constructed. Based on our rules, they
become eligible to receive the FiT rate, if they are fully commissioned and
if we have determined the start date of their commercial operation," said
DoE Director Mario C. Marasigan partly in Filipino.

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

The certificates serve as basis for the issuance of a renewable energy
payment agreement, or REPA, from state-run National Transmission Corp., the
agency that handles the "feed-in-tariff allowance."

Whether the target is fully subscribed, its subscription by developers will
end this year, said Mr. Marasigan, who heads the DoE's renewable energy
management bureau.

Under the FiT system, qualified developers of emerging renewable energy
sources are offered a fixed rate per kWh of their exported electricity, but
excluding the energy for their own use. Their entitlement is taken from a
FiT allowance billed to all on-grid electricity consumers who are supplied
with power through the distribution or transmission network.

As of end-2016, the DoE has classified four biomass projects in Luzon as
"committed" -- or with financing to build their plants. The projects are led
by Asian Carbon Neutral Power Corp. (1.5 MW), Bicol Biomass Energy Corp.
(4.5 MW), AseaGas Corp. (6.1 MW) and San Jose City I Power Corp. (10.8 MW).

In Mindanao, the biomass projects are under the companies Philippine Trade
Center, Inc. (1.6 MW), Green Earth Enersource Corp. (2.6 MW) and Lamsan
Power Corp. (10 MW).

Of these seven projects, five set their testing and commissioning last
month. Philippine Trade Center -- which is developing a rice husk-fired
biomass co-generation facility in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao -- was
scheduled to complete its project last month.

Next, San Jose City I Power is the closest to completion, in July 2017. The
company's power plant in barangay Tulat, San Jose, Nueva Ecija will convert
risk husk into electricity. It is the biggest plant in terms of capacity
among the latest committed projects.

In a resolution dated Jan. 24, 2017, the ERC approved and adopted the
reduced FiT rate from P6.63 per kWh for biomass plants as called for by a
resolution it issued in July 2012 for a 0.5% degression rate after the FiT
rate took effect. Consumers were billed a monthly FiT allowance starting in
January 2015.

The Philippines has an installed capacity of 233 MW from biomass plants, a
meager 1.1% of the country's total of 21,423 MW as of end-2016.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=biomass-plants
-rated-at-over-37mw-could-qualify-for-fit&id=142186

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com