10/25/2010 | 06:01 PM
To cover the expected power shortfall next year, solar power producers want the Department of Energy to approve as fast as possible their proposed energy projects.
In a statement Monday, the Philippine Solar Power Alliance (PSPA) said its members can start operating solar farms by 2011 and supply 110 megawatts (MW) of electricity in Luzon, 35 MW in the Visayas, and 55 MW in Mindanao.
Luzon, according to the Energy Department, is expected to have a 300-MW supply shortage next year.
The Philippines has geographical advantage in solar power, PSPA president Tetchi Cruz-Capellan said, noting that investors are convinced of the Philippines’ solar energy potential.
The country is located in the world’s sun belt, she pointed out.
Capellan assured the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB) that the alliance can deploy significant power capacity within six months, or immediately after service contracts are awarded to accredited solar companies.
Installers in rural areas are capable of providing construction support to utility companies and contractors planning to build solar farms, according to her.
Capellan said the Philippines has access to materials for building large solar farms because the world’s biggest solar power manufacturer, Sunpower, is based in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Ramon Abaya, chairman of Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co., told NERB in a letter that “other renewable energy technologies need two years… to build their plants, but solar panels, on the other hand, only take six months to install."
He noted that any building, commercial establishments, and residential areas can install rooftop solar panels. “It also doesn’t require costly transmission upgrade or extensions. It is a perfect example of decentralized generation technology," Abaya said.
“It is the only technology offering automatic degression of rates," he said.
A mechanism adopted by developed countries to force innovation and efficiency, degression refers to energy rates that significantly drop with the onset of installed technology.
While solar energy entails high production costs at the moment, it is the only renewable energy technology that empowers homeowners and small businesses to produce electricity at daytime.
Thus, energy technology gives consumers a mechanism to directly benefit from the feed-in tariff — a premium rate paid for clean power generation — under the renewable energy law, the group said.
“No other technology has this advantage," the PSPA stressed.
Solar energy producers are confident they can help avert outages and offer consumers lower rates after two years of operation.
“All manufacturers are racing to penetrate the fast-growing markets [spawned] by the solar bandwagon. Prices are falling steeply at a faster pace because of this competition," Capellan said. — JE/VS, GMANews.TV
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