MRC Allied sets P8.8-billion capex for new solar projects

By Myrna M. Velasco – January 4, 2018, 10:00 PM
from Manila Bulletin

Listed firm MRC Allied, Inc. has earmarked capital spending of P8.8 billion for capacity ramp up of 200 megawatts utility-scale solar farm developments that it will be pursuing this year.

According to MRC Allied President Gladys N. Nalda, their development target for 2018 will add up to the initial developments they have worked on at 210MW capacity.

“We are on advance stages of pre-development,” she said, adding that first in their pipelined capital spending will be the R3.3-billion Naga solar project in Cebu which has been targeted for 60MW capacity.

The big-ticket development that the company will be advancing soon would be that of the 100MW solar venture at the Clark Global City in Pampanga.

“For the 100MW, we are in partnership with the BCDA (Bases Conversion and Development Authority).  We own the service contract, but we have a lease agreement with them for the project site,” Nalda said.

On project financing, “we normally abide by the 70-percent debt and 30-percent equity ratio. So we will be tapping loans,” the MRC Allied executive added.

The first major foray of the company in solar development had been its acquisition last year of 15-percent shareholdings in Sulu Electric Power and Lighting Philippines Inc. (SEPALCO), a solar project in Leyte province.

So far, the listed firm has three conclusive projects on its roll, but Nalda indicated they are “continuously searching” for other ventures that they can pursue. “We are looking at prospects that are on-grid developments, that’s our priority,” she said.

The company has a five-year target of 1,000MW scale up on renewable energy capacity (that is until 2022), hence, it is also among the industry players waiting for the next policy directions on how RE projects would be incentivized post the era of feed-in-tariff (FIT) subsidies.