Biomass technology installations will be incentivized with feed-in-tariff (FIT) and will be fully subscribed at 250 MW by year-end.
This according to the Head of the Compliance Monitoring department of the National Transmission Corporation (Transco) Dinna O. Dizon as quoted in a Manila Bulletin report.
She said that subsidy-incentivized biomass projects is expected to increase to 31 projects from the current 16, after extending FIT for biomass projects for this year.
“Currently we are paying 16 biomass plants under FIT, total of about 131 MW,” she told Manila Bulletin reporters.
Last year, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi issued a policy extending the period of when biomass project-developers could be qualified for the FIT incentives at a degressed rate of ₱6.5959 per kilowatt hour.
This was a decrease from a higher base of P6.63 per kWh, which was the prescribed cost in the second round of RE installations.
Hydro technology installations will also have an extended FIT availment until the end of the year as directed by the DOE, with a degressed rate of ₱5.8705 per kWh from ₱5.90 per kWh.
Dizon implied that the pass-on charge might not be totally felt in the electric bills because of the additional FIT-All for the new biomass and hydro plants that will be included in the FIT incentive system.
“As to the real driver, maybe none in the sense that additional biomass and hydro plants are coming in by the end of this year,” Dizon explained.
“For biomass, there will be full subscription of the 250MW by end of the year and its impact will manifest next year. What can bring down the FIT-All is if spot market prices increase,” she added.