SN Aboitiz targets March start for solar facility

SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP) is targeting to operate its 200-kilowatt

Magat Dam reservoir in Isabela

“We hope…to have running maybe March

it up and [or] April

said in a press chat on Monday.

The $300,000 project will cover a 2,500-square-meter area over the

shall provide electricity company’s facilities there.

In a statement also on Monday, SNAP said it would conduct a stress test to ensure that the “facility works through incidences of massive inflows and strong typhoons.”

to the

If successful, the company will look into scaling up the project so that the power it generates may contribute to its renewable energy capacity and energy security.

“As a company pushing for greener solutions, we aim for minimal environmental impact as

in the statement.

development, where we recognize the interdependence of food, water, and energy and optimize them for balance and synergy,” he added.

The statement comes after the National Irrigation Administration ( NIA) announced in June

solar-power projects at its dams and reservoirs after SNAP had proposed building a water-based one in Magat with solar panels

A hectare of solar field can produce 1 MW of electricity, according to NIA Administrator Ricardo Visaya.

After approving the proposal for the project, NIA said if 200 of the 4,500 ha of the reservoir would be used for water-based solar-energy generation, 200 MW would be generated and 200 ha of agricultural lands could be saved.

It also comes after AboitizPower Chief Operating Officer Emmanuel Rubio told reporters in September that SNAP was pilottesting the project.

“We’re testing maintenance, how do we clean it, algae forma- These are the parameters that we’re testing,” Rubio said, adding his company was managing only one of the dam’s three reservoirs.

A joint venture between listed AboitizPower Corp. and SN Power of Norway, SNAP invests in clean, renewable energy on a commercial basis in emerging markets. It is into acquiring, developing, constructing and operating hydroelectric power plants.

SNAP owns and operates the 360- to 380-MW Magat facility on the border of Isabela and Ifugao provinces; the 8.5-MW Maris plant in Isabela; the 105-MW Ambuklao facility in Benguet province; and the 140-MW Binga plant, also in Benguet.