ACEN to put up floating solar projects at Laguna Lake with 420-MW capacity

By Alena Mae S. Flores – August 19, 2024, 8:20 pm
from manilastandard.net

ACEN Corp. said Monday its two subsidiaries will put up floating solar projects in Laguna Lake with a combined capacity of 420 megawatts.

ACEN’s AC Subic Solar Inc. will build a 280-MW AC Subic floating solar power plant project at an estimated cost of about P12.5 billion.

AC Subic Solar is developing Block 13 with a capacity of 140 MW and Block 16 with a capacity of 140 MW.

Another subsidiary, SolarAce 4 Energy Corp. is developing Block 17 with a capacity of 140 MW at a cost of P6.25 billion.

The companies submitted separate reports to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for public scoping of the projects located at the offshore areas of Santa Cruz, Laguna.

They said the projects would augment the power supply of the national grid and meet the government’s end of transitioning to a clean energy future.

The projects have their respective solar energy operating contracts with the Department of Energy and were issued by the Board of Investments (BOl) a certificate of endorsement designating their projects as strategic investments pursuant to Executive Order (EO) No. 18.

EO 18 is the government’s response to the ease of doing business and under such EO, floating solar power plant projects are considered priority and strategic investments.

Both companies also executed a renewable energy contract area utilization with the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) in August 2023 for the development, construction, installation, testing, commissioning, operation and maintenance of a lake-based solar farm.

Pursuant to LLDA Board Resolution No. 600 Series of 2021 or the “Laguna de Bay Renewable Energy Utilization of 2021, an initial area of not more than 2,000 hectares in Laguna de Bay was allocated for the renewable energy development.

Floating PV technology is an application of solar PV in harnessing energy on bodies of water.