Enfinity awaits OK for solar project

Enfinity Philippines Renewable Resources Inc., the local arm of Belgian renewable energy developer Enfinity, is ready to roll out at least 10 megawatts (MW) worth of solar power projects in off-grid islands, as soon as the government gives it the green light.

In an interview, Enfinity Philippines president Dennis Chan Ibarra said the company could start building its solar power installations in areas covered by the National Power Corp.’s Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) at any time.

The government, specifically the Department of Energy, however, would have to tell Enfinity how to proceed with its entry into the SPUG areas.

“They have to tell us how they want us to do this. Do they want us to bid for the areas? Do they want us to do a hybrid [facility]? Do they want us to take advantage of the [universal charge for missionary electrification]? They just have to tell us how to proceed and we’re ready,” Ibarra told the Inquirer.

Ibarra said Enfinity expected a clearer idea of how the government wants it to proceed with the Napocor-SPUG project when the National Renewable Energy Program is presented on June 14.

“The program is supposed to align the various ways of handling resource allocation for RE. We’re hoping that we’ll have our answers when this is presented. We’re not asking the government for any money. We just want to be told how they want this to be done,” Ibarra said.

All that Enfinity asked for, he said, was to be allowed to put up facilities in areas with a total demand of not less than 10 MW. While this kind of demand would not give the company the returns that investors wanted, the project was still worth undertaking due to its expected benefits to the country.

“This project won’t give us double-digit returns, but we’re looking at it as our [corporate social responsibility project] for the Philippines,” Ibarra said.

Enfinity, together with Napocor-SPUG, also offered to put up a 2-MW facility in Casiguran, Aurora, under a memorandum of understanding with the Aurora Pacific Econonic Zone and Freeport.

Napocor-SPUG tapped the firm to put up solar power projects in areas in Romblon, Palawan and Quezon. Renewable energy use is meant to lessen the country’s dependence on fossil fuels.