Feed-In Tariff rates is needed to boost energy system in the country-Angara

By Jason de Asis

SENATE OFFICE, Manila, January 29, 2011-Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) head said that there is a need to use the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) rates in order to grow the renewable energy (RE) industry in the country, saying that it will encourage RE developers and investors in generating power from RE sources such as solar, wind, run-off river hydro, ocean and biomass.

“FIT will guarantee developers specific prices for different types of RE technologies once it was finalized,” Angara said, adding that COMSTE which is a non-voting member of the Board of the National Renewable Energy Board (NREB), in the latest meeting of NREB held earlier yesterday is continuing to support the growth of the Renewable Energy (RE) industry development to discuss plans to address the issues facing the stipulations in the Renewable Energy law where the commission has long been an advocates of RE in the country.

Angara, who sponsored the Renewable Energy Law, said that to help stimulate growth in the local RE industry in the country, the commission (COMSTE) initiated various projects which involved other industries like semiconductors and electronics where he highlighted two (2) projects that have been prioritized for this year such as the Industrial Research and Development Institute (IRDI) and the Renewable Energy Research and Development Institute (RERDI).

The creation of these institutes would need government funding which would go to applied research in key areas, in turn enabling innovation and creating new companies and new jobs according to COMSTE report, adding that the funding for these projects can potentially come from the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Science and technology (DOST), and the Department of Energy (DOE) and/or other government entities.

To implement the RE act of 2008, the NREB has also requested that COMSTE technical experts be tapped to assist in matters such as the FIT, net metering, Green Energy Option (GEO) and other mechanisms that are necessary. (Jason de Asis)