Schneider Electric plugs in power aid for solar farms

(The Philippine Star) | Updated July 18, 2015 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - French energy management company Schneider Electric is taking advantage of the huge number of developers going into solar by providing electrical package converters to 150 megawatts (MW) of solar farms being developed in the country.

In an interview, Schneider Electric senior vice president for solar business Serge Goldenberg said the Philippines is a great place for solar projects given the climate.

“The Philippines is part of the region that has higher than average irradiance and therefore it’s a good place for developing solar,” he said.

Another plus for the country to develop more solar projects is the number of its islands.

“You have a lot of islands which is one more reason to develop solar because if not, then you have to transport diesel to the islands and it is extremely expensive. This is where the economic equation makes a lot of sense,” Goldenberg said.

However, Schneider Electric’s Philippine unit will focus on providing solutions for solar firms and not on putting up solar farms because it is the company’s core competency, the company official said.

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“What we do is we provide the electrical package... So it’s basically linking two solar panels to the grid,” he said.

Currently, Schneider Electric Philippines is working with different solar developers with a total of 150 MW capacity.

Goldenberg declined to name the companies they are working with due to non-disclosure agreements, but so far, Schneider Electric has connected 30 MW of solar projects to the grid. – Danessa Rivera source