Posted on March 16, 2016 09:45:00 PM [ bworldonline.com ]
PRESIDENT Benigno S. C. Aquino III on
Wednesday inaugurated the biggest solar farm in Luzon, adding to the renewable
energy portfolio of the Philippines.
PRESIDENT BENIGNO S. C. Aquino III,
Solar Philippines CEO Leandro L. Leviste, and Energy Undersecretary Donato D.
Marcos attend the inauguration of the Calatagan Solar Farm, March 16. -- SOLAR
PHILIPPINES
“Through projects like these, we are
proving to the world that even developing countries such as ours can do their
share in combating climate change,” Mr. Aquino was quoted as saying in a
statement.
Solar Philippines Power Project
Holdings, Inc. developed, financed and built the 63.3 megawatt (MW) solar farm,
which sits on a 160-hectare property in Calatagan, Batangas. With more than
200,000 solar panels, the facility is expected to supply enough power supply
for the entire western part of the Batangas province.
During a projected operation life of 30
years, the solar farm is expected to offset at least a million tons of carbon
dioxide (CO2) emitted from burning fossil fuels. The replaced CO2 is equivalent
to benefit brought to the environment by more than five million trees.
“Solar has just begun to realize its
potential. It will soon not only be cleaner, but cheaper and more reliable than
coal, and in a matter of years, supply the majority of our country’s energy
needs,” Solar Philippines CEO Leandro L. Leviste was quoted in the same
statement as saying.
The Calatagan facility’s inauguration
comes a day after former US vice-president and Nobel Prize-winning climate
change advocate Albert Arnold “Al” Gore, Jr. said the Philippines could become
a 100% solar powered country due to the abundance of sunlight all year round.
As of the latest data from the
Department of Energy, solar power plants accounted for only 0.55% or 102 MW of
the country’s installed capacity as of mid-2015, and 0.47% or 75 MW of its
dependable capacity.
The Calatagan solar farm was completed
ahead of the March 15 deadline set by the Energy department for the
installation of 500 MW under the country’s feed-in tariff (FIT) system. Under
the FIT scheme, renewable energy developers are paid a fixed rate for the
electricity they deliver to the grid, the interconnected transmission assets
that bring power for distribution to consumers.
For solar projects, the rate was fixed
at P9.68 per kilowatt-hour. Electricity consumers are billed a FIT allowance,
the bulk of which are used to compensate renewable energy generation companies.
The scheme is meant to encourage more power projects to be sourced from cleaner
energy. -- Alden M. Monzon
________________________________________________________________
