Meralco’s first solar farm goes online in renewable energy push
PowerSource First Bulacan Solar Inc. (PSFBSI) is now delivering electricity to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) through its P4.25-billion 50-megawatt solar farm in San Miguel, Bulacan.
Meralco officials said the project dubbed BulacanSol, in which they have a 60-percent interest through MGen Renewable Energy Inc. (MGreen), is just the first of a 1,500-MW renewables portfolio that they intended to build.
Long-term sustainability
MGreen’s joint-venture partner in BulacanSol is Makati City-based PowerSource Energy Holdings Corp., which holds 40 percent of PSFBSI.
Meralco chair Manuel V. Pangilinan said in a statement that while BulacanSol “is a modest” effort in renewable energy, the project played a significant role in the Meralco group’s long-term sustainability agenda.
“We look forward to many more investments in renewables, particularly solar, as we attempt to achieve that balance in fuel sourcing, which will ultimately be biased toward renewables,” Pangilinan said.
Ray C. Espinosa, Meralco president and chief executive, recalled that the distribution giant first announced in June 2019 that it would join the shift to renewable energy and would adopt sustainable practices for the entire group.
“And [now], we realize the very first renewable power plant—the first of several that One Meralco has lined up for investment and sourcing,” Espinosa said.
Rogelio L. Singson, chair of PSFBSI as well as president and chief executive of MGreen, said they would be building more environmentally conscious projects as part of a commitment to a sustainable energy transition for the future generations.
“As the first operational project of MGreen, BulacanSol is a very important milestone that drives us to aggressively pursue more projects that will help us achieve our target of building a renewable energy portfolio with a capacity of up to 1,500 MW in the next five to seven years,” said Singson, who is also the president and chief executive of MGreen’s parent firm Meralco Powergen Corp.
