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多米尼加共和国

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代价

In the Dominican Republic, wasting renewable energy is expensive.

From January to June 2025, renewable energy companies lost about 5.17 million USD because the grid limited some solar power generation.

The country's three distribution companies could have bought cheaper renewable electricity but instead bought more expensive fossil energy, spending about 6.5 million USD more.

One reason is that some thermal power plants did not reduce their output to the 'minimum required' as regulations state, so the grid often stopped solar power during midday when solar energy is strongest for 'safety'; this is called 'curtailment'.

In May, the curtailed electricity reached 16,171 megawatt-hours.

Another practice is called 'mandatory generation': some thermal power plants are hard to shut down, so they keep generating electricity even when the system doesn't need it and receive compensation; renewable energy does not have this treatment.

In the first half of 2025, compensation for mandatory generation was about 11.33 million USD, with many costs ultimately covered by government subsidies.

Experts say upgrading the grid and increasing energy storage can reduce waste and allow solar and wind energy to enter the system more steadily.