AboitizPower switches on 45-MW solar farm in Tarlac

Aboitiz Power Corp. continues to build its clean energy portfolio with the firing up of its first solar facility in Central Luzon.

The firm said its renewable energy unit Aboitiz Renewables Inc. (ARI) had switched on the 45-megawatt peak (MWp) solar facility in Tarlac last month.

“We appreciate the help of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines in integrating Armenia to the grid. There is no energy transition without transmission, so we thank them for their support,” ARI president Jimmy Villaroman said in a statement on Thursday.

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The Armenia plant in Tarlac is the fourth operational solar facility of AboitizPower, following the activation of the 59-MWp San Carlos Sun Power Inc. power plant in Negros Occidental, the 94-MWp Cayanga-Bugallon Solar Power facility in Pangasinan and the 159-MWp Laoag Solar Power Plant in Pangasinan.

While the group has more than 1,000 megawatts (MW) of existing projects from several indigenous energy sources, AboitizPower said its target to accelerate its renewable expansion remains.

By 2030, AboitizPower hopes to increase its renewable energy capacity to 4,600 MW with more investments in solar, hydro, geothermal, wind and energy storage systems.

Energy storage

AboitizPower also shared that its geothermal unit has tapped Chinese firm Shandong Electric Power Engineering Consulting Institute Co. Ltd. for the installation of the Bay battery energy storage system (BESS) in the province of Laguna.

“When realized, it will be the first-ever BESS and geothermal hybrid system in the Philippines,” it said.

Danel Aboitiz, president and chief executive officer of AboitizPower, earlier expressed bullishness that the group could end the year strong with the robust operations of its businesses.

“We’ve got immense availability—more capacity coming online, growth in our distribution business, improvements in our infrastructure. So many, many small things [are] all adding up,” he told reporters.

The company has presence in power generation, power distribution, retail electricity services and distributed energy. Its power generation portfolio includes both renewable and nonrenewable generation plants. INQ