German firms to train PH in solar energy dev’t

NOTING the Philippines’ huge potential for renewable energy development, particularly solar power, German experts have started a new round of training for Philippine developers on increasing renewable energy contribution to the country’s total energy mix.

The training programs are organized by the German enterprise Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Program coordinator Markus Dietrich said the level of understanding of renewable energy in general and solar power in particular had increased but further training was needed given the relatively young Philippine energy market, which has to contend with surging power demand.

Gaspar Escobar Jr., chief of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) technical services management division, said it was time to prepare for a maturing market by setting product standards for renewable energy, such as solar power panels and control systems.

There are also activities on how to find the “true” cost of power as coal power generation may be cheap but may have health and environmental costs.

The Philippines’ current renewable energy capacity is 5,400 megawatts and authorities say the country is on track to triple this to at least 15,000 MW of installed capacity by 2030.

One way the DOE is fast-tracking projects is by giving guaranteed rates under the feed-in-tariff (FIT) setup, initially set in 2012.

FIT rates are being shouldered by consumers over a 20-year period, which will ease the impact of renewable energy rates.

The Energy Regulatory Commission earlier set the FIT for renewable sources—P5.90 per kilowatt-hour for hydro, P6.63 per kWh for biomass, P8.53 per kWh for wind, and P9.68 per kWh for solar.

The government later expanded the allocations for wind and solar power, with lower tariffs of P7.40 per kWh and P8.69 per kWh, respectively.

Among the participants in the training are nine German solar companies that will train solar companies, distribution utilities, electric cooperatives, project developers and investors on the latest technology and project development skills for renewable energy.

The training supports the DOE’s thrust to increase the share of solar power in the country’s total energy mix. Solar and other renewable energy technologies are ideal for providing electricity to islands and other remote areas difficult to connect to the grid.