Renewable energy developers expect to unlock the full potential of floating solar projects in Laguna Lake through hybridization with battery storage and imposition of higher tariff.
Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alliance president Tetchi Capellan said the tariff on floating solar under the Green Energy Auction Program 2 is a “good start as it already differentiates the economics with land based.”
“But for the country to harness the potential of the lake, which is located at the back door of Metro Manila and Laguna, the GEAR [Green Energy Auction Reserve] price for floating solar has not yet captured the true cost of this emerging technology,” Capellan said.
The GEAR for GEAP 2 pegged the price of floating solar at P5.3948 per kilowatt-hour, versus P4.4043 per kWh for ground-mounted solar.
Floating solar, where solar panels are placed on water, is expected to be a big deal in future auctions but during GEAP 2 only 90 MW was committed for the construction of floating solar in 2026.
ACEN Corp. president and chief executive Eric Francia said the next GEAP should include solar-storage hybrids—a technology that combines solar power and energy storage.
“Solar-storage hybrid should ideally be included in the next GEAP as this will help address grid constraints, as well as encourage distribution utilities to procure GEAP capacity because it enhances the reliability of GEAP as a source of supply,” he said.
Francia said building large-scale solar projects could be expensive at first because of the costs of infrastructure like roads and power lines.
“Large scale solar is therefore more expensive in the short term, but improves over time as it gets further scale. To reach our renewable energy goals, the country needs large scale projects and the upfront costs need to be reflected in the tariff setting,” he said.
Francia said costs would also depend a lot on the price of battery storage, which is still changing.
“At the end of the day, solar storage hybrid should be compared to the alternative which is gas. Solar storage, on the other hand, has mostly fixed cost and harnesses indigenous and clean energy. This ensures energy security and protects customers from price volatility,” he said.