(The Philippine Star) | Updated November 24, 2017 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines —
Ayala-owned AC Energy Holdings Inc. has teamed up with UK-based Kennedy
Renewable + Technology Corp. to power up Tawi-Tawi’s only university with solar
power installations.
AC Energy and Kennedy
Renewable installed solar panels with a 141-kilowatt (kw) capacity and battery
storage at the Mindanao State University (MSU) in Bongao,Tawi-Tawi.
With its thrust to
focus on renewable energy development, AC Energy provided technical and
financial support while Kennedy Renewable acted as the main developer and
engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the project.
Under the partnership,
seven campus buildings were outfitted with solar panels, hybrid inverters and
batteries — which work in tandem with the local power supply, thereby reducing
the impact of electrical disruptions and lowering the school’s cost of
electricity.
This will also allow
MSU to provide quality education despite the inefficiencies in the current
local power situation, as only 30 percent of the province’s population has
access to electricity sourced from expensive diesel generators.
“Our company sees great
value in not only providing electricity to far-flung regions of our country,
but also to critical institutions of growth like MSU. Partnering with Kennedy
Renewable and MSU to stabilize their campus’ power supply directly impacts the
quality of education that the school’s students will receive,” AC Energy
president and CEO John Eric Francia said.
MSU targets to become a
center of excellence in fisheries, marine and maritime science and engineering,
and oceanography, to produce experts in fisheries and agriculture, which are
key drivers of Tawi-Tawi’s local industry.
Kennedy Renewable
chairman Philip Ella Juico said the project would promote sustainable
development in far-flung areas.
“This installation is a
living, although modest, testament of how organizations like AC Energy and
Kennedy Renewable + Technology Corp. solve real problems of power shortages
that affect critical institutions in remote areas. Many more projects like this
will help advance the cause of energy derived from sources that are replenished
by nature,” he said.
AC Energy is scaling up
its attributable generation capacity to 2,000 megawatts (MW) by 2020, of which
renewable energy portfolio is targeted to comprise 1,000 MW of its total
capacity.
Currently, it has a
total attributable capacity of 1,088 MW. Of this, three are renewable energy
projects, namely the 52-MW Northwind Power Development Corp. in Bangui, Ilocos
Norte; the 81-MW wind farm in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte through its affiliate
NLREC and the 18-MW solar plant in Negros Oriental, a joint undertaking with
Bronzeoak Clean Energy Inc.
The Ayala power
investment firm is looking to expand some of its existing renewable energy
projects when the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and the Green Energy
Option (GEO)—mechanisms under the Renewable Energy (RE) Act of 2008—are
implemented.
AC Energy is also
expanding its footprint in the Southeast Asian region. With partner UPC
Renewables Indonesia Ltd., it is developing a 75-MW wind farm project in South
Sulawesi, Indonesia.
It also has a 20
percent stake in Star Energy (Salak-Darajat) B.V., which acquired Chevron’s
geothermal operations in Indonesia.
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