Eco-Merge allots $150M to develop solar projects

BUSINESS MIRROR
TUESDAY, 11 JANUARY 2011 20:00 PAUL ANTHONY A. ISLA / REPORTER

ECO-MERGE Philippines Inc., a Filipino-Japanese company, is looking at investing $150 million in the next three years to develop large-scale solar energy power plants. 

“We’re targeting to put up three solar farms in the country with a total generating capacity of 41 megawatts (MW), Edgar Morada, president, told reporters.

He added that Eco-Merge will initially undertake an 11-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power project in Camarines Sur.

“After that we will be putting up other solar farms in the Visayas and Mindanao. These form part of a long-term commitment of Eco-Merge with support from Snowy Mountain Engineering Corp. (SMEC),” Morada said. 

He noted that they also plan to build 10-MW PV power plants each in Negros Occidental, Agusan del Norte and Zamboanga.

Joseph Jerome Santiago, Eco-Merge vice president, said investment for one solar PV power plant could reach between $3 million and $4 million per megawatt.  

For the Camarines Sur project, Eco-Merge has partnered with SMEC which will conduct a detailed feasibility study.

Morada said they will be spending about $40 million to set up the said PV power plant. “Solar is capital intensive but it does not take long to put up the project. It’s [possibly] the most capital-intensive technology compared with other renewable energy alternatives,” he added.

He also made it clear that the project cost is still based on initial estimates and that SMEC’s feasibility study will give  a better understanding of how much they will spend for the said project. 

SMEC said the result of the feasibility study will be used as basis whether or not to proceed with the project. At the end of the feasibility study, it is expected that tender documents could be written and tenders call for the detailed design, engineering, supply and construction, and commissioning of the plant. 

Morada added that they target groundbreaking for the Camarines Sur project in November this year, and that construction for the power project could take six months. 

In a project brief furnished by SMEC, the model for the Camarines Sur project is to partner with the local government for the provision of a 22-hectare land area either through a joint venture or lease agreement. 

Eco-Merge is in the process of discussing initial collaborations with potential partners, including the Camarines Sur provincial government. 

SMEC said it has been appointed as consultant to provide technical advice for the development of the PV power plant in Camarines Sur and in the three other sites.