The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has denied the petition of the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) for feed-in-tariff (FIT) for electricity generated from ocean energy resources.
The commission ordered the board to file another request that will seek for premiums for tidal in-stream energy conversion (TISEC) instead of ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) as the former is the technology predominantly used in the country.
Power plants granted with FIT are assured with fixed rates for their produced power, meant to encourage investments in renewable energy projects.
“Majority of ocean power projects awarded with service contracts by the Department of Energy use TISEC. The Commission, therefore, found it reasonable to use the said technology instead of the OTEC as the representative project for the determination of the FIT rate for ocean technology,” said Agnes Devanadera, ERC chairperson and chief executive officer.
Devanadera said there is more information available on TISEC technology which can be the basis for the calculation of the initial FIT for ocean energy instead of OTEC whose operations have not yet reached commercial scale.
The ERC also previously deferred the approval of FIT for ocean technology when it issued its decision in 2012 as NREB proposed then for OTEC as the representative project even when there was no OTE C plant in commercial operation at that time.
The regulatory body is exercising prudence in granting of FIT as the costs “are ultimately passed on to the consumers.”
RE resources granted with FIT include wind, solar, biomass and run-of-river hydro. – J.Macapagal
