Meralco eyes more renewable energy projects

Manila Electric Co. is considering having two subsidiaries to handle its renewable energy (R.E.) projects, a top company official said.

Meralco president and CEO Oscar S. Reyes told reporters that an initial 20-megawatt (MW) rollout of solar power projects would be undertaken via newly established unit MSpectrum and that Meralco might carve out its other R.E. businesses under a new subsidiary.

“MSpectrum will be for solar. As for other R.E. projects, some will be under MGen (Meralco PowerGen Corp.). Large-scale R.E. will be under MGen… but we might break out other renewables,” Reyes said. MGen is presently focused on coal-fired power projects.

The Meralco group is actively moving into R.E. because it has addressed long-term baseload requirements through partnerships and through MGen’s coal-fired power plant projects, which are suitable for 24/7 operations.

“What we’re looking at now is how do we serve the mid-merit and peaking requirements. I think that’s where solar, being intermittent, will play a role,” Reyes said.

Meralco SVP Alfredo S. Panlilio said MSpectrum would build rooftop and utility-scale solar power plants with an initial 20-MW capacity within one year. MSpectrum will focus on commercial and industrial accounts, and may take on residential projects from time to time.

Meralco officials previously said the long-term target for solar power was to build 100 MW of capacity under MSpectrum.

The group is also exploring other R.E. technologies such as wind, biomass, and hydroelectric power, Reyes said.

Smaller projects such as solar rooftop will be done solely by MSpectrum but larger-scale projects might require partnerships with experienced companies, Reyes said.

“For utility scale renewables our approach will continue to be partnerships. We would like to do these ventures together with established, credible partners who also provide us reality check in terms of quality and robustness of the projects,” Reyes said.