【明報專訊】In early 2017 the government proposed a“feed-in-tariff”scheme. Under the scheme, private corporations and community renewable energy producers set up devices to generate electricity and link themselves to the grid, selling electricity to power companies at a rate higher than the normal electricity tariff rate so as to reduce the cost of power generation and promote the use of renewable energy in society.

◆Current Situation

According to the 2017 Renewables Global Status Report published by REN21, 110 countries and regions in the world had a feed-in tariff scheme in place, and they included China, Japan and the United Kingdom. Such a policy was also introduced in the scheme of Control Agreements signed between the Hong Kong government and the two power companies in April 2017. Under the policy, renewable energy generators(mostly harnessing solar energy)are allowed to be linked to the grid. Such arrangements will come into effect in October 2018 and January 2019 respectively.

◆Difficulties

Law compliance

According to the Greenpeace, many people who intend to install solar power generators at their homes are often at a loss how this can be done legally. The group suggests the government provide more information for citizens on the issue. Owners of small village houses built in accordance with the Buildings Ordinance, for example, have to appoint an authorised person or a registered structural engineer and submit an architectural drawing to the Buildings Department. Work shall commence only after the project is approved by the BD.

Limited space for installation

Not all places are suitable for installing a solar power generator, which has to receive exposure to sunlight. A study published by the Polytechnic University in February 2017, 75 percent of all the 309,000 buildings in Hong Kong are suitable for the installation of solar panels on the rooftop, potentially generating 10.7 percent of Hong Kong’s annual power consumption. The government estimates that small village houses, which number 40,000 approximately in the New Territories, stand to benefit most from the feed-in tariff plan, as owners of these houses are not required to seek the government’s approval for installing a photovoltaic system.

High cost

As said before, solar panels installed on the rooftops of 75 percent of Hong Kong buildings can accommodate around 10 percent of Hong Kong’s total electricity needs. However, given the high installation costs (＄30 billion in total), it would take at least 20 years before such a project enters a payback period. The Hong Kong division of the World Wide Fund for Nature suggests raising the feed-in tariff rate to HK＄4 per unit of electricity (The CLP and HK Electric charge households ＄1.132 and ＄1.049 for per unit of electricity respectively), thereby reducing the time to 8 and 10 years before the scheme can turn a profit. The government has also proposed that private organisations purchase the electricity at a rate higher than the usual tariff rate in order to subsidise renewable power generation. Power companies, in return, issue a certificate to these organisations to commend them for the effort in reducing carbon emission.

■Related concepts:

?community renewable energy

?solar energy

?photovoltaic system

[通通識 第511期]