Dominican Republic - Country Commercial Guide
Renewable Energy
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Overview

Despite the present administration’s efforts to increase the installed capacity of electricity generation from renewable sources, the electric power sector continues to be one of the most significant problems affecting the Dominican economy.  Although the DR continues to experience electrical outages that can last from several minutes to several hours, there are signs that the DR is poised for an energy transformation. 

The National Commission of Energy (CNE), Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), and Superintendency of Electricity (SIE), and other government institutions are collectively working to transform the energy sector and address gaps in distribution. CNE has outlined the policies and plans for electricity sector in the ”National Energy Plan 2021 - 2036” (PEN).

The PEN presents the current condition of the Dominican energy sector while outlining its future development.

The DR’s installed generation capacity connected to the National Interconnected Electric System (Sistema Eléctrico Nacional Interconectado - SENI) is around 5,631.47 MW and the average peak demand is around 3,312 MW. The supply shortfalls and occasional blackouts thus appear to be due to systemic problems, including an antiquated grid and outdated software, rather than a lack of generation capacity. Technical and non-technical losses average 39.2%.

The historically high costs of fossil fuel imports have made the development of renewable energy projects a priority for the government, and the DR has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by one-third of 2010 levels by 2030. 

The Dominican Republic passed legislation on renewable energy in 2007 as part of its endeavors to achieve these targets. The main objective of this law is to increase the contribution of renewable energy sources in electricity generation to 25% by 2025.  The DR government’s efforts to encourage clean and renewable energy generation include generous tax incentives for investors.

Legal Framework for Renewable Energy

Several laws comprise the legal framework for renewable energy projects in the Dominican Republic. These include the following:

Opportunities

The Renewable Energy Incentives Law (57-07) grants several incentives to businesses developing renewable energy technologies. This law was passed in 2007 as part of the Dominican government’s efforts to invigorate local energy generation from renewable sources, as well as to promote the production of high-value renewable energy products. The incentives included a 100% tariff exemption on imported inputs (equipment and materials) and a 10-year exemption from all taxation on profits up to, but not beyond, the year 2020, but in fact, those exemptions are still in effect as of 2023.  In 2012, the law was modified as part of President Medina’s fiscal reform measures, reducing the tax incentive for small-scale, self-producers of renewable energy and eliminating the 10-year tax exemption on profits from the sale of electricity generated from renewable sources.

The current administration has advocated for the implementation of a gradual shift to diversify the energy matrix with cleaner technologies and has set a target for renewables to account for at least 25% of power generation by 2030 (from an estimated 15% today). 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 since a modification during the previous administration reduced the amount to 40%. President Abinader also stated that the government energy authorities plan to launch a tender to incorporate more renewables into the energy system to increase the availability of clean energy in the SENI.

There has already been significant investment in the renewable energy space locally due to recent efforts by the Dominican government, and it is expected that there will be increased investment in renewable energy as many of the governments clean energy initiatives begin to take further effect.

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