US firm, AboitizPower in 300-MW solar venture

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) – listed firm SunEdison Inc. has partnered with local big league industry player AboitizPower Corporation for a prospective 300-megawatt utility scale solar power project on a multi-year investment starting 2015.

In the deal firmed up by the parties, they indicated that such “formalizes their intention to jointly explore, develop, construct and operate up to 300MW of utility scale solar photovoltaic power generation in the Philippines over the next three years.”

No specific details were provided yet on the equity arrangement, project cost as well as the prospective sites of the solar power facilities.

A press statement from SunEdison’s headquarters in California has quoted its Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Chatila that “it’s an ideal partnership” that they had entered into with the Aboitiz group.

“The partnership with Aboitiz Renewables aims to develop the first in a series of utility-scale solar power projects in the Philippines starting in 2015,” SunEdison has noted.

The American firm has emphasized that the targeted venture will be a strategic follow-through to the same types of arrangements they earlier had in China and India “to deploy cost effective solar energy solutions to meet the growing power needs of developing and emerging power markets.”

Chatila cited that “AboitizPower has extensive utility-scale solar experience in the Philippine power market, and SunEdison has leading world-class solar technology and deployment capabilities.”

It must be noted though that following the passage of the Philippine Renewable Energy Act in 2010, this is just the first venture of AboitizPower into solar power generation.

Chatila added “together, we are ideally positioned to swiftly bring cost-effective solar technology to the people of the Philippines.”

For his part, AboitizPower chief executive officer Erramon Aboitiz has reckoned that this solar development plan is part of the company’s investment-scouring strategy in the aim of diversifying further the conglomerate’s power generation capacity.

“We are constantly exploring new energy sources, and this exclusive agreement with SunEdison is an important milestone and welcome addition to our current portfolio of renewable energy,” he said.

The Aboitiz group indicated that its deep knowledge of the local power investment terrain, if combined with the technological supremacy of SunEdison in the solar development space, “will enable us to rapidly achieve our goal.”