| Solar Philippines continued to grow at a rapid pace in 2017, maintaining its status as the nation’s leader in providing solar solutions across all segments, and strengthening the Philippines’ position in the regional renewable energy industry. Building on the momentum of its 63.3 MW Calatagan Solar Farm which went online in 2016, the company charged forward with greater force in 2017. With Solar Philippines as its partner, SM sought to reduce the Mall of Asia’s carbon footprint — and it did, significantly, offsetting nearly twenty percent of its energy consumption. At 2.7 MW, the on-site installation — one of the largest in the world —produces enough clean power to cover the equivalent of 1,600 households. Comprised of more than 10,000 solar panels and 40 inverters, it is expected to offset over 80,000 tons of CO2 over its 30-year projected lifespan, equivalent to planting over 400,000 trees. Constructed and operational in March of 2016, the project is set to close the full cycle of implementation in 2017. Located at the First Philippine Industrial Park in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, the Solar Philippines Module Manufacturing Plant completed its first phase of construction last February of 2017. The plant can, at full capacity, produce 1.5 million panels in a year — around 800 MW worth — and directly provide jobs to an estimated 6,000 Filipinos. It is the first homegrown solar panel manufacturing plant in the country, using state-of-the-art German equipment to produce high-efficiency panels. The plant allows Solar Philippines to harness the potential of vertical integration: Driving down costs and paving the way for the country to become a global solar powerhouse. Soon after the first panels rolled out of its Module Manufacturing Plant, Solar Philippines broke ground on its 150 MW solar farm in Concepcion, Tarlac. The project is set to be the biggest solar farm in the Philippines, with an estimated 300,000 people in surrounding areas projected to benefit from it, on top of the 5,000 jobs it is expected to generate while under construction. Plans include the provision of batteries — among the first in the country at such a massive scale — which will allow the farm to dispense electricity with the same efficiency and reliability as traditional fossil-fuelled plants. At P4/kW, the project categorically demonstrates that solar can be more affordable than traditional fossil fuels. These comprise only part of the company’s total portfolio for the entire year, which is projected to reach 500 MW and includes innovative projects such as the Paluan Hybrid Solar Farm, the first multi-megawatt-scale solar storage and diesel hybrid project in the Philippines. With such achievements in a single year alone, and more in the pipeline, it is manifest that few independent power producers in the region can match the impact and velocity of Solar Philippines, much less the breadth of its vision |
