Tarlac to host P3.6B solar plant

CONCEPCION, Tarlac: The local government here is optimistic that the second phase of the P3.6-billion solar energy project will push through early this year, apart from the scheduled March 2017 target.

The first phase of the Concepcion Solar - pines Renewable Sources, Inc., which began in 2015 and started operations last year has a rated capacity of 50.55 megawatts (MW) and covers an area of 54.6 hectares, the biggest in the country to-date.

The second phase is likely to be developed with a target capacity of 100 MW, which will be directly connected to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) for bilateral agreements with distribution utilities (DUs).

The Concepcion facility, with 157 panels, will be the largest and most advanced state-ofthe-art solar farm in Luzon upon completion, according to the proponents.

“I hope it will already push through this early, and with the high- profile nature of development it will generate jobs for local Andy Lacson said.

He added that while Concepcion is known as an agricultural town, it can also offer other resources, both human and natural.

“We have a lot of potentials here. They just

a 23-MW facility at Clark Development Corp. facility in Cavite.

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Earlier, German-backed solar developer nv vogt Philippines also started development of a 200 megawatts (MW) solar plant. It broke ground in April last year and will be completed in the next three years.

The prospective solar farms, which could cost around $300 million to install, will be located mostly in Luzon and Mindanao, where the company has already established projects.

In Luzon, the company has constructed the 7.48-MW Dalayap solar farm and the 8.84-MW Armenia solar plant, both in Tarlac.

Also in Jaunary last year, Conergy, a leading German photovoltaic (PV) solution and service provider and PetroSolar Corporation, a company owned by PetroGreen Energy Corporation (PetroGreen) and EEI Power Corporation (EEIPC), started the 50 Megawatts Tarlac Solar Power Plant that was synchronized with the Luzon grid.

The TSPP energy facility covers 55 hectares of industrial land within the Central Technopark in Tarlac City and has a plant-size of 550,003 square meters capable of producing 78,070 megawatthours per year and provides clean energy.

interest to put up a facility in Tarlac after it Carlos City in Negros Occidental in April 2016.