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MANILA - The Department of Energy will bid out mini-hydro projects to jack up the share of renewable energy in the country's power generation mix.
Undersecretary Jose M. Layug Jr. said the department has received data from the Japan International Cooperation Ageny on Philippine areas that could be tapped for run-off river hydro projects.
"It’s good to do public bidding because there is available data already in these areas so at least they can submit their work programs on the basis of the data," he said, referring to potential investors.
Run-off river hydro plants generate between one and 10 megawatts of energy, but do not require the construction of large dams.
Layug said the DOE aims to bid out 50 areas in the third quarter.
Winning bidders stand to benefit from the feed-in-tariff for renewable projects, guaranteeing investor returns over three years.
The FIT, which will be shouldered by consumers through another line item in their electricity bills, is an incentive mandated under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 to entice investments in renewable projects.
Compared with conventional power plants, such projects have been hampered by limited markets and high investment costs.
Layug said the DOE set a cap of 250 megawatts for hydro projects that would qualify for the FIT.
"We don’t mind receiving more bids for run-off river because remember all our service contracts are in pre-development stage so they need to conduct a two-year feasibility study to determine whether the flow of river is sufficient for a run-off river hydro project," he added.
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