SMC: Solar facility to help power international airport

The power arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) will put up a 200-megawatt (MW) solar farm on the future site of its P740-billion New Manila International Airport (NMIA) project in Bulacan.

The solar power facility, SMC said on Wednesday, will be built on its 2,500-hectare property to help power the international airport.

Aside from the solar farm, San Miguel Global Power will also install a battery energy storage system (BESS) capable of storing power when generation is high but power consumption is low, and can be released when the demand is high.

SMC President Ramon S. Ang said the solar farm will be one of the facilities in the country.

“This battery storage will be a viable solution to balancing electricity loads and storing unstable energy supply coming from the sun and other renewable sources of energy which we are looking to utilize for the airport,” Ang said.

SMC is investing heavily in battery storage technology in various parts of the country to help stabilize power grids, minimize power wastage and provide reliable and affordable electricity coming from a mix of renewable and traditional sources.

BESS also encourages the use of more renewable energy (RE) in the long term, as storing power can address one of the main hindrances to wider adoption of RE, apart from high cost—that is, limited power source, such as sunlight or wind.

“Our approach has always been to use cutting-edge technology to shift sustainably to better fuels while balancing the needs of our country, economy, and people for affordable, reliable traditional fuel-based power. We continue to invest in technologies so that our power facilities would have as little impact as possible on the environment,” Ang said.

SMC maintains a mix of renewable and non-renewable facilities, with hydropower and natural gas facilities in its portfolio. Its brand new LNG ( liquefied natural gas) plants are a first in the country and a viable alternative to fossil-based power generation, he said.

The circulating fluidized bed technology that SMC uses in its modern, state- of- the- art clean power plants ensures that emissions are way below both Philippine and international emission standards as it transitions to cleaner energy sources.

Meanwhile, its international gateway project in Bulacan is seen to not only solve the worsening airport and traffic congestion in Metro Manila but also give the Philippine economy a major boost.

The company said its airport project is projected to generate trillions of dollars in economic activity and job opportunities, potentially contributing about 9 percent to GDP by 2025. Estimated annual impact to the economy would amount to nearly P900 billion.

More than that, the airport project is also betting on a green economy to have a dominant role in building a sustainable economy past the pandemic.