German solar firm keen on Phl

MANILA, Philippines - German solar giant Conergy Group, one of the world’s largest suppliers of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems, is still keen in investing in the Philippines, a company official said.

Conergy Asia & ME PTE Ltd. regional business development and sales manager Colin Steley said they are seeing a lot of opportunities in the country’s renewable energy sector, particularly in the solar industry.

Steley, however, said their investment would hinge on the ability of the government to firm up policies and terms for feed-in-tariff (FIT). The FIT regime is a form of incentives for renewable energy players by way of a guaranteed fixed price for a given period for their supply of energy.

FIT rate approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the power regulator are as follows: P9.68 per kilowatt-hour for solar; P8.53 per kWh for wind, P6.63 per kWh for biomass and P5.90 per kWh for hydropower projects.

A leader in solar systems integration, Conergy has produced and sold over 1.5 gigawatts of clean solar energy since its foundation in 1998. The group pursues a global growth strategy: it produces, installs, and plans solar energy solutions for its customers in more than 40 countries in over the continents.

In Asia Pacific and Middle East, Conergy offers a broad portfolio of solar energy solutions, serving customers from its regional headquarters in Singapore satellite operations in Australia and India and representative offices in the United Arab Emirates and Thailand.

Since its market entry in 2006, Conergy Asia Pacific has secured worthy milestones within six years, including the 24 megawatt Sin-An solar power plant in Korea, the two MW KAUST roof top installation in Saudi Arabia and six large-scale solar parks in Thailand and India.

Conergy Asia marketing director Michelle Gozum, on the other hand, said while waiting for the FIT, they are now exploring talks with possible partners.

Declining to identify, she said the company is expecting to seal a supply agreement with a local firm before the end of the year.

Gozum said they have been talking with several local solar companies but would like to take “small steps” while FIT is not yet in place.