“Dominican Republic doubling down on renewable energy build-out”, 03 February 2021

...The government plan of Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader – who took office last year – calls for the “urgent” implementation of a gradual shift to diversify the energy matrix with cleaner technologies. One of the roadmap’s targets is for renewables to account for at least 25% of power generation by 2030. To help reach this target, the administration has said it plans to restore the level of fiscal credit for investments in renewable energy systems to 75% as established in renewable energy incentives law 57-07. A modification in 2012 reduced the amount to 40%. Among other actions to add new impetus, authorities plan to launch a power supply auction to further incorporate renewables. In addition, the government has increased its greenhouse emissions reduction pledge with the goal of reaching climate neutrality in 2050. The start of 2021 has already seen the national energy commission (CNE) grant four provisional solar concessions for a combined 180MWn. The latest concessions are for Energia Renovable BAS’s 50MWn (73.1619MWp) Washington Solar Park 3 and WCGF Solar II’s 50MWn (67MWp) Mata de Palma Washington Solar Park II, both planned for Santo Domingo province...For the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Dominican Republic has the potential for wind and solar plants to cover 63% of real-time demand...IRENA’s recommendations include the installation of batteries for frequency support and new transmission lines and upgrades to existing dispatch infrastructure...