Solar panel installers urged to register with DOE

MANILA  -The Department of Energy (DOE) is encouraging solar power installers to register with the agency.

In an advisory released last week, the DOE said an official registry of solar photovoltaic (PV) system installers would serve as a reference and guide for all government offices seeking to install solar panels in their facilities.

Last month, the Inter-Agency Energy Efficiency and Conservation Committee (IAEECC) approved a resolution encouraging government offices to utilize solar PV systems or any other similar renewable energy technology in the form of self-generating facilities, distributed energy resources or net metering agreements with their host distribution utilities.

Self-generating facilities are those constructed and owned by end-users for their own use.
Distributed energy resources, meanwhile, are small power sources that can be aggregated to provide additional supply.

Under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, net metering allows consumers to install their own solar panels that can generate up to 100 kilowatts to meet their electricity demand.

The DOE is the lead agency of the IAEECC, as mandated under Republic Act No. 11285, or the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act.

In May, the DOE announced that the government was able to generate P205 million in savings in the first quarter of the year alone due to the implementation of RA 11285.

This is equivalent to around 20 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of saved electricity, as compared with only a cumulative 5 million kWh saved in 2017 to 2019. INQ