Solar energy to drive renewable energy led electrification of the country’s rural regions
Key Takeaways
- The Dominican Republic has committed to a target of 25% renewable energy share by 2025
- Solar energy will lead from the front as the country diversifies its energy generation mix to cleaner sources
- Energy storage is also high on the agenda with a target of around 250 MW to 400 MW of installed capacity
The Latin American nation of the Dominican Republic targets to raise the share of renewable energy in its national energy mix to 25% by 2025 with solar energy being a major driver, according to the country’s Minister of Energy and Mines Joel Santos. Under the National Development Strategy, their share should go up to 30% by 2030.
At present, renewables account for 18% of the national energy system with solar energy’s share being 8%. The latter is likely to grow to 17% of the total by 2025.
Speaking at a recent Dominican Association of the Electric Industry (ADIE) event, Santos said solar energy will also lead the charge of rural electrification of more than 64,000 homes in the country.
At the end of 2023, the country’s cumulative installed solar energy capacity had reached 1.077 GW, having gone up by 342 MW in 2023, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Among other power generation sources, natural gas will continue to maintain a share of 42% of the generation mix, while hydroelectric and biomass will also maintain their current levels of 5% and 1%, respectively. Fossil fuel generation will be scaled down, stressed Santos. Fuel oil based generation will fall from 8% to 4%, and coal-based generation from 30% to 24%.
Santos also stressed the importance of adding energy storage to the nation’s infrastructure to help renewable deal with the intermittency issues. Targeting around 250 MW to 400 MW of installed capacity in biomass energy storage systems (BESS) by 2028, Santos said this will guarantee the stability of the electrical system and optimize the use of renewable energies.
“The integration of energy storage is crucial to maximise the use of renewable sources, reduce costs for consumers and ensure the stability of the electrical system,” stated Santos.
The administration shared that the National Energy Commission (CNE) has approved 15 clean energy projects with storage. This includes the 75 MW DC/65 MW AC El Güincho Photovoltaic Solar Park of AKUOPOWERSOL SAS, which signed a concession contract with CNE on November 7 this year. It is to be accompanied by a 20.7 MW/82.8 MWh storage system.
To boost renewable energy, the government will spruce up the country’s transmission and substation infrastructure for an investment of $450 million between 2025 and 2028. New policies and regulatory frameworks will be promoted to facilitate the development of clean energy projects to attract national and foreign investments.
Dominican Republic will soon publish an updated draft of the National Energy Plan 2022-2036 with a chapter devoted to renewable energies and their storage, according to CNE Director Edward Veras.
Source from Taiyang News
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