MEDIA RELEASE
7 JUNE 2013
(Taguig City) The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a circular on the guidelines for eligibility of renewable energy (RE) projects for the feed-in-tariff (FIT).
The FIT offers emerging RE sources for electricity guaranteed payments on a fixed rate per kilowatt-hour for energy exported to the distribution or transmission network excluding energy utilized for eligible power plants’ own use.
Last 27 July 2012, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved the following FIT rates based on the petition of the National Renewable Energy Board: wind - P8.53/kWh, biomass - P6.63/kWh, solar - P9.68/kWh, and run-of-river hydropower - P5.90/kWh. As approved, eligible RE plants will be entitled to the abovementioned FIT rates for a period of twenty years. After this period, the tariffs for these plants will be based on prevailing market prices or on the contract price with off-takers.
Under the DOE Circular, only RE Developers with valid and subsisting Renewable Energy Service/Operating Contracts (RESC) can apply for FIT by submitting a document declaring the commercial feasibility of a project and the approved Work Plan. The DOE assures investors and stakeholders that the process of determining FIT Eligibility will be carried out with due diligence and transparency.
Primarily, the DOE will evaluate the submission of the developers prior to the issuance of a certificate to allow construction of a particular project. The RE Project shall then be subjected to site validation and inspection to check its compliance with interconnection requirements in coordination with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). It is only upon confirmation of the successful commissioning of the project that the Certificate of Endorsement (COE) for FIT Eligibility to ERC shall be issued by the DOE on a first-come-first-served basis.
For transparency and efficient monitoring, the DOE has setup a monitoring board in its website to show status of FIT Eligibility implementation and other important updates concerning the matter. (For Conversion from Pre-development to Development/Commercial Stage | With Certificate of Confirmation of Commerciality )
The Renewable Energy Act of 2008 affirms the government’s commitment to accelerate the exploration, development, and optimal use of the country's RE resources. It likewise mandates the establishment of a FIT system for electricity produced from RE sources, which among other initiatives, is central to the Philippines’ sustainable energy agenda.