Solar PH seals 6-GW energy supply deals

Businessman Leandro Leviste-led Solar Philippines is moving closer to its target of sealing 10 gigawatts of renewable energy contracts after clinching majority of supply deals with the government.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, its listed subsidiary Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp. (SPNEC) said they cornered 70 percent or 1,380 megawatts out of 1,967 MW of the renewable capacity offered by the Department of Energy (DOE) through the Green Auction Program (GEAP).

Of the total, 91 percent of the renewable energy supply agreements are solar, equivalent to 1,350 MW out of 1,490 MW.

Under the country’s first-ever GEAP, various contracts covering 2,000 MW of renewable capacity were bid out to eligible renewable energy developers.

Solar Philippines will supply electricity from the 500-MW solar project of SPNEC, the 400-MW Tarlac-2 Solar Farm; the 800-MW Quezon Solar Farm; the 400-MW Leyte Solar Farm and the 200-MW GenSan Solar Farm.

Citing the DOE’s terms of reference, the firm noted that “bid capacities refer to net export and not plant gross capacities.”

This brings the total capacity of substantially contracted Solar Philippines projects to over 6 GW, including the 3.5-GW solar, 4.5-gigawatt hours battery Terra Solar project, which will supply 850 MW of midmerit requirement of power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

It also covers another 200 MW of projects contracted with Meralco and over 175 MW of already operational capacity.

“When we began talking about 10 GW, many were in disbelief, because the total installed solar capacity of the Philippines last year was just over 1.1 GW. But we hope that having contracts for the majority of 10 GW has now made this plausible,” said Leviste.

“Now we have contracted this capacity, we look forward to work with other companies and stakeholders to deliver these projects and help achieve our country’s targets for renewable energy,” the Solar Philippines founder added. INQ