Arayat-Mexico solar power farm exported to grid in March
BY LENIE LECTURA – APRIL 4, 2022
from Business Mirror
THE 72-megawatt (MW) Arayat-Mexico solar power farm of Citicore Power Inc. and AC Energy Corp. (ACEN) started exporting power to the grid last month.
The 72 MW solar farm is expected to produce 105 gigawatt hours of renewable energy annually, enough to power 45,000 households while avoiding approximately 72,000 MT of CO2 emissions annually.
The Arayat-Mexico solar farm reached its full capacity last March 23 and is expected to add much needed capacity to the grid in time for the demand surge during the hot summer season, officials said in a statement Monday.
After its successful energization, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) will be conducting its own set of testing for grid compliance, which is expected to be completed by the second week of April.
“As we prepare to infuse this new asset into CREIT to grow its renewable energy asset portfolio in the coming months, our construction team is ready to break ground the Phase 2 by next month which will increase the total plant capacity to 116 MW upon completion hopefully before the end of the year,” said Citicore CEO Oliver Y. Tan.
He added that the energization of this project further demonstrated Citicore’s solid track record in greenfield development to Engineering, Procurement and Construction to Plant Operations and Maintenance.
“This huge solar plant shall be managed and operated in-house by our Citicore Property Management, Inc., currently, we have eight solar farms and one micro-grid solar rooftops under our management,” he added.
ACEN Chief Development Officer Jose Maria P. Zabaleta said the Arayat-Mexico solar farm is yet another example of how partners leveraging on their collective expertise, experience and determination can deliver a high-quality project safely and on time.
In a statement on its website dated June 24, 2021, ACEN said the solar project is a 50-50 joint venture with an estimated development cost of P2.7 billion.
“This will be a critical contribution in Luzon, where the energy industry is working double time to ensure a steady power supply.
