Alternergy’s Palau project taking shape

A unit of renewable energy player Alternergy Holdings Corp. is more than halfway through the construction of the solar hybrid project in the Republic of Palau, marking the group’s debut into the overseas market.

Alternergy, through its subsidiary Solar Pacific Energy Corp. (SPEC), is undertaking the 15.3-megawatt peak solar photovoltaic and 12.9-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system in Ngatpang state on Babeldaob, Palau’s largest island.

“Our Palau Solar PV + Battery Storage Project is already 65 percent complete. We expect to commence commercial operations by April 2023,” Alternergy and Solar Pacific chair Vicente Perez Jr. said in a statement.

The solar hybrid project is targeted to provide up to 23,000 MWh of clean and renewable power to Palau, representing more than 20 percent of the area’s annual energy demand.

“Our Palau hybrid project is also one of the biggest direct foreign investments in Palau with a project cost of $29 million and is generating local employment and tax revenues to the country,” said Solar Pacific CEO Mike Lichtenfeld.

The planned project is under Solar Pacific Pristine Power Inc. (SPPP), a subsidiary of Solar Pacific. SPEC leased 16 hectares of savannah land in Ngatpang for the project.

Palau Public Utilities Corp. and SPPP signed a 20-year power supply agreement, which can be extended for another five years.

Export Finance Australia provided a total financing package of $22 million for the solar hybrid project via the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific program of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This is seen to help achieve Palau’s target of raising the share of renewable energy in the energy mix to 45 percent by 2025.

“Alternergy and Solar Pacific saw the opportunity to explore the electricity market outside the Philippines and we are honored to be the first independent power producer (IPP) in the Republic of Palau,” added Perez.

Alternergy is targeting to develop up to 1,370 megawatts of additional wind, offshore wind, solar and run-of-river hydro projects in the next five years.