Solar Philippines ramping up capacity to 500 MW by 2017

By Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star) | Updated March 18, 2016 - 12:00am
http://www.philstar.com/business/2016/03/18/1563947/solar-philippines-ramping-capacity-500-mw-2017

MANILA, Philippines - Solar Philippines is preparing to ramp up its generating capacity to 500 megawatts (MW) by 2017 after completing its major solar facility in Batangas.

Solar Philippines said it has started construction on its next projects in Mindanao and Luzon, aiming to to complete 500 MW by 2017.

“Solar has just begun to realize its potential. It will soon not only be cleaner, but cheaper and more reliable than coal, and in a matter of years, supply the majority of our country’s energy needs,” Solar Philippines CEO Leandro Leviste said during the launch of its 63.3-MW solar farm in Calatagan, Batangas.

President Aquino led the inauguration of the solar project, which was completed and has started generating power to the grid weeks before the Department of Energy’s March 15 deadline.

“Through projects like these, we are proving to the world that even developing countries such as ours can do their share in combating climate change,” Aquino said.

The Calatagan project is currently the largest solar farm in Luzon, comprising over 200,000 panels on a 160-hectare property which supplies enough power for the entire western Batangas.

It is expected to offset over one million tons of CO2, equivalent to planting over five million trees over three decades.

The project was made possible through the support of local banks, namely Philippine Business Bank (PBB), BDO Unibank Inc., China Banking Corp. and Bank of Commerce.

In 2014, President Aquino also inaugurated the 1.5-MW solar rooftop project in SM North Edsa Solar Carpark in 2014, also developed by Solar Philippines.