SEVEN BIOMASS power plants are scheduled for commissioning or completion this year, keeping them in the running for the reduced feed-in-tariff (FiT) rate of around P6.60 for each kilowatt-hour (kWh) they export to the electricity grid.

The projects — four in Luzon and three in Mindanao — have a combined capacity of 37.1 megawatts (MW), latest data from the Department of Energy (DoE) show. Should they be able to start commercial operations this year, they will easily qualify for the P6.5969 per kWh degressed FiT rate for the renewable energy.

“There are projects that are being constructed. Based on our rules, they become eligible to receive the FiT rate, if they are fully commissioned and if we have determined the start date of their commercial operation,” said DoE Director Mario C. Marasigan partly in Filipino.

As of end-2016, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) awarded certificates of compliance to projects with a total capacity of 28.6976 MW, or way below the 250-MW installation target set by the DoE for biomass plants, which convert agricultural waste to electricity.

The certificates serve as basis for the issuance of a renewable energy payment agreement, or REPA, from state-run National Transmission Corp., the agency that handles the “feed-in-tariff allowance.”

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