Although the Dominican Republic has yet to announce a specific solar power capacity target, the island nation has already installed 279 MW of PV till the end of 2019, growing from 204 MW a year before, as per the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). However, there is further, very strong growth in sight.
PV InfoLink reported in 2019, the government approved 12 PV and wind power projects with a combined capacity of around 874 MW, with solar alone adding up to 774 MW. It believes that if these projects are successfully awarded through bidding process, the demand for PV in the country will grow considerably.
Currently dependent on foreign independent power producers (IPP) to build large scale solar projects and encourage the private sector to enter into power purchase agreements (PPA), the government is now transitioning to a competitive auction-based mechanism. Locally, the distributed generation (DG) market is growing under net-metering scheme.
Auctions, PV InfoLink believes, will also help the country overachieve its target of 25% renewable energy share in the total energy mix by 2025 to a total of 32%. The Dominican Republic is one among 10 Latin American and Caribbean nations that have pledged a 70% renewable energy target in their cumulative energy supply by 2030 (see 70% RE Target By 2030 For 10 LaTam & Caribbean Nations).
Hydropower dominates renewables in the Dominican Republic today, followed by wind power and PV. These 3 sources currently make up more than 90% of its installed renewables capacity, reported PV InfoLink, but the status quo is bound to change as hydropower growth is stagnating.
In February 2020, Spain's Elecnor announced it will build 'largest' solar PV plant in Dominican Republic with 120 MW capacity for local power company EGE Haina (see Spanish EPC Company For 120 MW PV In Dominican Republic).