Dominican Republic assigns new off-takers for wind, solar PPAs

Wind and solar energy investors looking to sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) in the Dominican Republic will do so with three state-owned electricity distribution companies, the energy ministry clarified this week.

The three distributors -- Edenorte, Edesur and Edeeste -- were under the CDEEE, the administrator of state-owned or controlled electric sector companies and formerly a regulatory body in charge of the generation, distribution and transmission of electricity in the Dominican Republic. Before it was dissolved and its powers transferred to the energy and mines ministry last year, CDEEE was also tasked with managing off-take contracts with independent power producers (IPPs).

On Monday, the ministry held a meeting with renewable energy investors who have been granted definitive concessions years ago to clarify doubts about the PPA legal framework now that the CDEEE is gone, it was stated in a press release.

The ministry said that PPAs can have a term of up to 15 years maximum. Before securing a PPA for their project, investors will have to meet some obligatory conditions. First, the concession has to be in force, the project’s environmental permit up to date, there can be no objection to grid connection and each promoter has to have a letter of acceptance of the reference prices recently published by national energy commission CNE, the ministry said.

It will depend on each promoter how fast this process can be completed, the ministry added.

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