December 19, 2019 | 12:05 am
SN Aboitiz Power is planning to
venture into ground-mounted solar power plants to add to its portfolio of
energy sources, which are mostly large hydroelectric power plants, the
company’s president said.
“I’d like to at least have maybe 50
megawatts (MW) a year, 25-50 MW a year, that we could trade,” Joseph S. Yu,
President and Chief Executive Officer of SN Aboitiz.
Asked about when the company plans
to starting building solar power projects, he said: “Maybe the year after.”
Mr. Yu said the company does not see
any reason to stop expanding its annual capacity target.
“We just keep going as long as the
market could bear it,” he said, adding that the company would continue to push
hydroelectric power development.
SN Aboitiz is the joint venture of
Norway’s SN Power AS and listed energy company Aboitiz Power Corp. It owns and
operates the 360-MW to 380-MW Magat hydroelectric power plant on the border of
Isabela and Ifugao provinces; the 8.5-MW Maris hydro plant in Isabela; the
105-MW Ambuklao hydro plant in Benguet; and the 140-MW Binga hydro plant in
Benguet.
Last year, the company confirmed an
announcement made by state agency National Irrigation Administration that they
partnered to develop a floating solar farm on Magat dam with a capacity of 200
kilowatts.
The pilot floating solar project was
meant to be tested for strong typhoons this year, but the storms that came were
not in the strength that the facility was meant to withstand, Mr. Yu said.
He said the company has spent about
$400,000 for the pilot project.
For the company’s planned solar
power capacity, Mr. Yu said he was looking at a combination of ground-mounted
and floating solar farms.
SN Aboitiz may also study other
technologies such wind power, although it had never dabbled on onshore or
offshore wind farms.
“But if [the opportunity is] there
we can put resources on that,” Mr. Yu said.
“The other thing also is as more
variable renewable energy comes in, somebody has to come in and help modulate
the frequency of the grid,” he said, referring to battery storage systems.
“So you have two places there for
us. One is the hydro side because hydropower plants are one of the biggest
batteries you could have. And of course, battery energy storage systems,” Mr.
Yu said. — Victor V. Saulon
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