PetroEnergy’s planned solar project in Palawan secures ECC from DENR
The proposed 10-megawatt solar farm installation by PetroGreen Energy Corporation (PGEC), a subsidiary of listed firm PetroEnergy Resources Corporation, already secured the two most vital environmental clearances for it to move ahead with project implementation plans.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PetroEnergy has noted that the Region 4-B unit of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued last week its environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for the planned venture.
Further, the project corporate entity had gotten the go-signal of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) for its Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) on the solar project that will be sited in Puerto Princesa City.
The company emphasized that it had also cornered the “formal support’ of host communities on various clearances and required resolutions, including those from the barangay, city environmental and natural resource office (CENRO) and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
“PGEC’s planned 10MW solar facility is expected to be the first green and renewable energy sourced-power facility in the city and the province,” the company vouched.
At this stage, it noted that it is “discussing with the Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO) the technical requirements for connecting the facility to the PALECO grid system.”
Traditionally, the island of which power system is of off-grid mode, leaned on diesel and bunker-fired power facilities.
There had been previous attempts to put up other fossil fuel-fired power generation in the area, but this had drawn extreme opposition from the host community.
The other renewable energy sources proposed to meet Palawan’s growing energy demand, including those on hydro and biomass, had so far stalled just at blueprint stages.
Palawan is seen by many of the industry players as one ‘investment hotspot’ for power facilities, not only because of its briskly growing economy but also due to its immense tourism draw.