Solar power producers offer to put up 170-MW facilities

MANILA, Philippines - A group of solar power producers is proposing to put up around 170 megawatts (MW) of solar energy in the country next year.

In a statement, the Philippine Solar Power Alliance (PSPA) said it has offered to build these solar facilities to help ease up the power shortage projected in 2011.

PSPA is composed of project developers, electricity off-takers, solar panel manufacturers and prospective power producers.

PSPA members said they have assured the government, through the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB), that they can deploy significant power capacity within six months, immediately after service contracts are awarded to accredited solar companies.

Based on the group’s estimates, they can readily operate solar farms in 2011 and supply 110 MW of electricity in Luzon, 35 MW in Visayas and 55 MW in Mindanao.

PSPA president Tetchi Cruz-Capellan said the Philippines has an established geographical advantage in solar power.

The country is located in the earth’s sun belt and has an irradiation index of 1200. Other countries have less irradiation because of the winter season yet even with less sunlight, these countries produce significant amount of solar energy. For example in Germany, 8.9 gigawatthours of electricity from solar supplies about nine percent of the country’s power needs. Today, Germany produces half of Europe’s solar energy output.

But energy analysts are optimistic the Philippines can convert sunlight to power. Sunpower, the world’s biggest solar panel manufacturer, has a plant in Sta Rosa, Laguna whose presence provides the country easy access to materials needed to build large solar plants.

Moreover, manpower is available to absorb the planned installations. Years of solar-powered electrification in the rural areas created a pool of installers capable of providing construction support to utility companies and contractors planning to build solar plants.

In a letter sent to NREB, Cepalco chief Ramon Abaya said while other renewable energy technologies need two years, at least, to build their plants, solar panels, on the other hand, only take six months to install. “It also doesn’t require costly transmission upgrade or extensions. It is a perfect example of de-centralized generation technology.”

“The nature of solar technology,” added Abaya, “allows any building, commercial establishments, and residential areas to install solar panels in their rooftops. Further, it is the only technology offering automatic degression of rates.”

Degression is a mechanism adopted by developed countries to force innovation and efficiency. With a degression policy in place, rates are expected to drop significantly.

The PSPA said they are still burdened by the high cost of producing solar energy but, stressed that solar power, though expensive at present, is the only renewable energy technology empowering homeowners and small business to produce electricity at daytime, coinciding with daytime peak.

Hence, it provides electricity consumers a mechanism to directly benefit from the feed-in tariff afforded in the renewable energy law. No other technology has this advantage.

Solar producers are also confident it can help avert brownouts and offer consumers lower rates after two years of program implementation. “Global competition of solar panel production is intense,” said Capellan. “All manufacturers are racing to penetrate the fast-growing markets caused by the solar bandwagon. Prices are falling steeply at a faster pace because of this competition.”

The group said it is hopeful government will transform the power crisis into a golden opportunity to fuel the development of solar energy.

“The Philippines is blessed with sunlight,” said Capellan. “Investors are bullish and want to partner with government to tap this infinite resource and build solar rooftops in the cities of Metro Manila, Metro Cebu as well as Mindanao.”