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MANILA, Philippines — Nuevasol Energy Corp. has secured the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) approval to build a transmission facility that will connect its solar power plant to the Luzon grid.
The ERC said in its decision that the company was authorized to deploy and own dedicated point-to-point limited transmission facilities, a crucial development to make operational its solar park in Nueva Ecija.
The Bongabon Solar Power Plant has a capacity of 30.933 megawatts and is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2024.
Based on the application submitted to the ERC, Nuevasol intends to build a takeoff substation, an overhead transmission line and tapping/switching station.
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Found to be feasible
This infrastructure would then be linked to the 69-kilovolt Cabanatuan-San Luis Transmission Line of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).
Nuevasol said the project may require funding of about P300 million.
“The said costs will be subject to reimbursement after validation by NGCP,” it added.
The firm said the NGCP conducted a system impact study in 2023 to determine whether the grid system can accommodate additional capacity. The proposed facilities were “found to be technically feasible,” it said.
“Given that the RE Law aims to accelerate the development of the country’s renewable energy resources and increase the utilization of renewable energy, it is in the interest of the government to assist RE developers to achieve commerciality and commercial operations at the soonest possible time,” Nuevasol said.
The group said the solar plant would boost the region’s power supply while supporting the government’s goal of expanding installed clean energy capacity.
The government has an ambitious target to increase renewable energy’s share in the electricity mix to 35 percent by 2030 from the current 22 percent.
The 2024 Climatescope Report by BloombergNEF ranked the Philippines as the second most attractive emerging market for clean power investments, climbing by two notches from fourth place last year and a huge jump from 20th spot in 2021.