IslaSol files appeal to D.O.E. to reconsider solar-power projects to second round of FiT

NEGROS Island Solar Power Inc. (IslaSol) filed on Thursday an appeal before the Department of Energy (DOE) to reconsider the recently issued decision on the solar-power projects that made it the to the second round of the feed-in tariff (FiT) program.

Bronzeoak Director and Treasurer Don Mario Dia said a motion for reconsideration was filed on June 30, the first working day for Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi.

“The first letter we submitted to the DOE was on June 10. We requested for transparency on how the DOE was able to arrive at the list,” Dia said.

However, there was no reply from the DOE.

“Since there was no reply to our first letter, we are now sending out another letter to the DOE. But this time, it’s a motion for reconsideration,” Dia added.

The solar-power projects of IslaSol that were not included in the DOE list are the 32-megawatt (MW) La Carlota and the 48-MW Manapla power projects in Negros Occidental.

“The motion for reconsideration is really for the DOE to reevaluate the merit order in which the IslaSol plants are perceived to be qualified even ahead of others,” Dia said.

IslaSol is a joint venture between Bronzeoak, the Macquarie-managed Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure (Pinai) Fund and Dutch pension-fund manager APG.

The solar-power provider has yet to receive a formal list certified by the DOE. “We are asking for the transparency guidelines that specifically dictate what the merit order should have been. If our projects are not satisfactory, then tell us why,” he said.

The DOE last week released the list of solar-power projects awarded with Certificates of Endorsement under the second round of the FiT program.

Under the list, 17 solar-power projects, with a combined capacity of 417.05 MW, are entitled to receive the subsidized rate of P8.69 per kilowatt-hour for 20 years as incentive for investing in solar power.

This list was forwarded to the Energy Regulatory Commission so the latter could issue a Certificate of Commerciality to each of these projects.