Solar PHL unit aims to expand capacity

BY VG CABUAG – DECEMBER 23, 2021
from Business Mirror

Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp. (SPNEC) on Wednesday said it is in talks for a possible joint venture to acquire some 1,000 hectares of land to increase its capacity to 500 megawatts.

“We are preparing an initial 1,000 hectares for a joint venture with a partner who can help turn this plan into a reality,” said Leandro Leviste, chairman of Solar Philippines, the parent company of SPNEC.

While he did not name the potential partner, Leviste said teaming up with the country’s leading companies will be key to accelerating the transition to renewable energy.

Last year, Solar Philippines announced its shift towards Sites and Partners, focusing on creating value from the development of greenfield sites and then bringing in other companies as partners once the project has been “de-risked.”

According to the company’s prospectus, part of the proceeds of its recent P2.7-billion initial public offering (IPO) will go to the construction of the first 50 MW out of the 500 MW that SPNEC has already developed.

The largest part of the IPO use of proceeds is to acquire land to expand beyond 500 MW, in support of SPNEC’s plan to develop the largest solar project in Southeast Asia.

In the case of its Nueva Ecija developments, SPNEC is initially limited by the power demand of Central Luzon, but the development of around 60 kilometers of transmission to Bulacan would enable the company to deliver more power directly to Metro Manila.

The company has noted this expansion potential is one of the reasons it prioritized this project and pursued the IPO of SPNEC.

“This project’s scale is both its advantage and disadvantage. Unlike 100 MW projects located next to existing transmission, this one will need to be at gigawatt-scale to justify the development of new transmission, which is why others have not sought to develop in this area,” Leviste said.

“This is a bet on the demand for large-scale solar, and if such demand does come, this project can become larger than all the solar projects to date in the Philippines combined.”

The Department of Energy earlier mandated the increase of the renewable portfolio standard target to 35 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2030.

This would require over 20,000 MW of solar.

According to the DOE’s figures as of December 2020, the Philippines had a total operating grid-connected solar capacity of 1,021 MW.