ERC OK for higher floating solar plant fees sought

MANILA  -Solar power developers are calling on the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to raise the price cap for floating solar plants in the government’s second Green Energy Auction Program (GEA-2), stressing that development costs were higher for this technology compared with alternatives, such as ground-mounted and rooftop solar panels.

In a six-page position paper released to the press on Wednesday, the Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alliance (PSSEA) told the ERC to consider increasing the ceiling price for GEA-2 floating solar plants to P7.3661 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

The ERC in April set the preliminary green energy auction reserve (GEAR) price for floating solar at P4.7565 per kWh.

This price cap is close to that of ground-mounted solar (P4.2395 per kWh) and rooftop solar (P4.7156 per kWh).

PSSEA argued, however, that the project cost of floating solar plants—or floating photovoltaics (PV)—was higher than ground-mounted solar by at least 20 percent, citing data from the World Bank.

“Unlike in ground-mounted solar panels, solar PV on water incurs additional costs in construction and operations, including, but not limited to, installation of floaters, anchoring and mooring of the system,” the group said.

“These systems are the unique features of the solar PV on water and are indispensable in keeping the solar PV on water in its place,” it added.

In the ERC’s April 28 notice of preliminary GEAR prices, it said the rates were still up for consultation with stakeholders across the country until May 16.

Tetchi Capellan, PSSEA chair and founder, urged the ERC to take into consideration that floating solar incurred more costs than other renewable technologies and must therefore have a higher price cap in the GEA-2.

“At a high level, [GEAR price of floating solar] is supposed to be differentiated. They need to take into consideration that floating solar has a different ecosystem,” Capellan, who also serves as president and chief executive officer of renewable energy firm SunAsia Energy Inc., told reporters on Wednesday.

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