The Ministry of Mines and Vitality in Cambodia has revealed a doc outlining the rules for allowing the usage of rooftop PV. The brand new coverage replaces the month-to-month capability charge for rooftop methods, with a tariff calculated based mostly on an intricate formulation.
Rooftop PV installations are closely penalized in Cambodia, with photo voltaic arrays restricted to 50% of contracted load and charged month-to-month capability fees. On the finish of April, the nation’s Ministry of Mines and Vitality revealed a doc, “Ideas for allowing the usage of rooftop solar energy in Cambodia” outlining new rules to streamline the rooftop PV approval course of. . It proposes the substitute of precise capability fees with new tariffs and quotas for installations.
The modifications are in response to the garment trade’s want to put in extra rooftop photo voltaic to “scale back the carbon footprint of products and merchandise,” as required by worldwide consumers, based on the doc. The temporary reiterates the federal government’s perception that utility-scale photo voltaic is one of the best ways to cut back electrical energy costs for all customers and scale back instability points. on the grid. So it launched a “compensation tariff for variable vitality from rooftop photo voltaic” below the precept of “equality in electrical energy costs for all events.”
The brand new tariff is calculated based on a three-part formulation. The primary is the value of electrical energy export from the nationwide grid, which might be paid to the electrical energy distributor. The second is the value comparable to grid losses, which might be paid by the state-owned utility Electricite du Cambodge (EDC). The third is the tariff based mostly on the levelized price of electrical energy (LCOE) of every set up.
Requested if the brand new tariff is a constructive growth for photo voltaic in Cambodia, Natharoun Ngo Son, nation director of the Vitality Lab, gave pv journal an ambivalent response.
“Sure and no. Sure, it’s higher, than the capability fees, first there’s a 50% cap, then the capability cost is whether or not your system can be utilized or not,” mentioned Ngo Son. “Now, the tariff is paid based mostly on utilization, which is best. As well as, earlier than injecting extra electrical energy into the grid was not allowed and now it’s.
Nonetheless, PV system homeowners who inject energy into the grid can achieve this without spending a dime, as internet metering and internet billing will not be allowed in Cambodia. Ngo Son argues that grid constraints, amongst different points, imply that public utilities are unlikely to implement such regulatory accelerators quickly.
Ngo Son expressed considerations in regards to the different facet of the brand new tariff, saying “no, it isn’t essentially higher. The massive query for all of us is: We’ve a formulation, however what does it imply? What’s actual price to be paid by the personal sector?”
Though the coverage doc was signed and revealed on April 25, 2023, its official standing is unclear, because it has not but been revealed on the web site of the Ministry of Mines and Vitality. Ngo Son mentioned it’s anticipated to be applied within the coming weeks, however an implementation schedule has not been made public.
The doc additionally identifies quotas for rooftop PV installations, that are allotted on a first-come-first-served foundation per province, provincial capitals, and zones. Nonetheless, it doesn’t specify what number of quotas there are, how they’re outlined, or what the standing of present PV methods is inside the quota scheme.
“Upon receiving a allow from the Electrical energy Authority Cambodia, the Applicant will start [installing] the solar energy on the roof inside three months from the date of notification,” the doc reads.
Regardless of leaving many questions unanswered, Ngo Son sees the brand new coverage as a constructive growth for photo voltaic in Cambodia. This April, the Cambodian authorities authorized 5 renewable vitality tasks totaling 520 MW. Of those, 4 are PV tasks, consisting of a 150 MW venture in Pursat province, an 80 MW venture in Prey Veng province, a 60 MW venture in Kampong Chhnang province, and a 60 MW venture in Svay Rieng province.
Cambodia revealed the “Energy Growth Plan 2022-2024” (PDP) in December 2022, which set a goal enhance in photo voltaic of three,155 MW by 2040. In response to the newest statistics of the Worldwide Renewable Vitality Company (IRENA), the Southeast Asian nation may have 456 MW of put in photo voltaic capability by the top of 2022.
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