Government should consider granting incentives to hybrid power systems by including the technology in future Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP), according to ACEN Corp.
Solar-storage hybrid combines solar power and energy storage.
“Solar-storage hybrid should ideally be included in the next GEAP as this will help address grid constraints, as well as encourage distribution utilities to procure GEAP capacity because it enhances the reliability of GEAP as a source of supply,” said Eric Francia, ACEN president and chief executive officer.
ACEN also said the cost of solar storage hybrids depends a lot on the cost of battery storage but the cost of harnessing indigenous and clean energy is relatively fixed to protect customers from price volatility.
Tetchi Cruz-Capellan, chief executive officer of Sun Asia Energy, in a statement said future rounds of GEAP should consider more advanced technologies like floating solar panels with a floor price that can help in the development of pioneering projects.
Capellan cited the recent signing of Renewable Energy Contract Area Utilization Agreements between the Laguna Lake Development Authority and Sun Asia Energy and ACEN which she said would unlock the potential of the lake.
“Supplying power to Metro Manila and Laguna requires gigawatt of power which needs thousands of hectares not readily available to developers. Using the lake surface for solar energy provides a clear pathway in realizing the energy security and decarbonization goals of the country,” Capellan said.
Capellan, who is also the chairperson of the Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alliance, said tariff on floating solar is a good start as it differentiates the economics with land-based but its floor price for the GEAP must be improved as it “has not yet captured the true cost of this emerging technology.”
Francia supported the call, noting building large-scale solar projects can be expensive at first because of the cost of infrastructure like roads and power lines.
“Large-scale solar is therefore more expensive in the short term, but improves over time as it gets further scale. To reach our renewable energy goals, the country needs large scale projects and the upfront costs need to be reflected in the tariff setting,” Francia said.
Jay Layug, president of Developers of Renewable Energy for Advancement, said the awarding of floating solar projects will help the Department of Energy (DOE) achieve its RE targets.
“With the right price, sufficient period to construct and efficient government permit processing, any target can be easily met by the DOE given the abundance of RE resources we have in the Philippines,” Layug said.
The DOE aims to bring up the share of RE to total energy mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
