The use of solar energy is viable in the country

Ecuadornews:

The Agency for Regulation and Control of Electricity (Arconel) issued regulations for the installation of plants that take advantage of solar radiation.Industries and companies that register high levels of electricity consumption will be able to reduce the cost of their tariffs by installing photo voltaic micro generation systems.

The Electricity Regulation and Control Agency (Arconel) approved a regulation at the end of October that allows for the use of solar radiation for self-supply.Gabriel Salazar, director of Arconel, explained that this regulation will benefit the productive sector with high levels of energy consumption, so that they have a considerable reduction in their monthly rates through these systems that should have a maximum capacity of 500 kilowatts (Kw).

But not only the businesses will benefit from this initiative, but also homes that,due to their level of consumption, pay monthly high items. “For example,if a family consumes 2,000 Kw per month monthly and its plant produces 500 Kw,it will only pay 1,500 consumed from the electricity grid,” the Arconel principal explained.

Those interested in installing these systems must submit to the electricity companies of each locality a study to determine the demand for the service and justify the construction of their photovoltaic micro central.

The official recalled that as an opening to the use of alternative energies, the State freed tariffs on equipment that is related to the generation of photovoltaic electricity, which lowers the costs to acquire the equipment of the micro-plants.

He clarified that this regulation is not aimed at households with an average consumption of 200 Kw hours and that they pay around $ 20, but to customers that consume more than 2,000 Kw and pay from $ 300. This type of consumption is mainly found in the Costa for the uninterrupted use of air conditioners,outdoor lighting, swimming pools.

Juan Bermeo, manager of the company Eco Caucho, considers the initiative positive,since it opens the way for the country to continue with the implementation of clean, sustainable and alternative energies in its production system. “Asa company that believes in the need to protect our environment, we are willing to implement one of these photovoltaic plants, which requires us to do a technical analysis to evaluate the areas that could be connected with this energy,”said the businessman.

For his part, Juan Ortega, entrepreneur of the graphic industry, believes that this initiative will bring benefits to the business sector, but that the quality of the plants to be built, the quality of materials, the life time, should be analyzed they need investments for their implementation.

They expect the regulator to socialize the measure and deliver more information that allows businessmen to make a decision about it.

For Héctor Garzón, president of the Ecuadorian Federation of Metal Industries(Fedimetal), the use of a photovoltaic plant with the capacity of 500 Kw is insufficient for the level of consumption and power of this sector, which is upto 60 times higher than stipulated by Arconel. He considers that the photovoltaic plant could be used for the exterior lighting of the factories.(I)

Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/economia/4/arconel-uso-energia-solar-ecuador