Mindanao traders clamor for solar power

BUSINESSES in Midnanao are clamoring for solar energy projects to ease the region’s tight power supply situation.

In a position paper, various business groups from Mindanao called on the government to increase the volume of solar power that would qualify for tariff incentives.

“Numerous power summits, conferences and press briefings had been conducted to address the Mindanao power problem yet no new significant power plants have come on stream in Mindanao despite these initiatives . . . Mindanao cannot again afford to bleed economically for the next two or three years; power plant capacities in the grid must be immediately augmented,” they said.

The country’s second largest island group, Mindanao is suffering from thin power reserves, which could lead to regular supply interruptions in the near future should no new plants be put up soon.

Mindanao’s power supply is heavily dependent on hydro plants, which are very vulnerable to changes in weather condition.

Government is barred from putting up new power plants, while the private sector has met stiff resistance from non-government organizations opposed to coal plants, which the Department of Energy said were the fastest to put up in the region.

The Mindanao business groups see no significant additional power generating capacities in the region within the next two to three years.

As such, they are egging the government to accredit more solar power projects, which could be deployed in a matter of months instead of the years it takes for conventional power plants to be put up.

“Since at least 50 [percent] of Mindanao’s energy needs are currently supplied by hydro power plants, solar will immediately address the current capacity shortage and effectively complement the hydro power plants, especially during the dry seasons,” the business groups said.

This means the government would have to grant more tariff incentives, which is tantamount to higher electricity bills for consumers.

The DOE earlier endorsed only 50 megawatts of solar capacity that would benefit from the tariff incentives. This is significantly lower than what investors are seeking since in Mindanao alone, 150 megawatts of solar power projects have been applied for.

Based on National Renewable Energy Board figures, adding 760 megawatts of RE plants eligible for the proposed feed-in-tariff will result in a rate of P0.1050 per kilowatt-hour, with solar contributing only P0.0114 per kilowatt-hour.

The FIT rate impact is much less than the P0.50 per kilowatt-hour additional electricity payments Mindanao residents had to bear at the height of outages last year.

The Mindanao business groups said solar electricity production matches the daytime peak in the region, thus allowing them to displace oil-fired power plants or enable large hydro power plants to store and reserve water for the night time peak..

Also, since they are embedded in the distribution networks, solar power plants can mitigate transmission constraints in the grid and reduce transmission costs.

Signatories to the position paper include the Agusan del Sur Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Dipolog Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Misamis Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sarangani Chamber of Commerce, Sulu Chamber of Commerce and the Tawi-Tawi Chamber of Commerce. –Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo, Reporter, Manila Times