NEWS

By Ben Gines Jr. | The Manila Times | January 26, 2022

SOLAR Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp. (SPNEC) is firming up plans for the development of 10 gigawatts (GW) of solar projects, which would represent an almost 10-fold increase in the country’s grid-connected solar capacity.

As of December 2020, Department of Energy (DoE) figures pegged the country’s solar power capacity at 1.021 GW.

To support the development of these projects, SPNEC may conduct a possible stock right offering and form joint ventures with its parent, Solar Philippines. The company emphasized that solar projects of this scale would only be made possible by partnering with the country’s leading power companies.

“Our aim is not to compete with the country’s power companies, but to make it easier for them to build solar projects, so that together, we can make solar the largest source of energy in the Philippines,” said Leandro Leviste, Solar Philippines founder.

SPNEC has not yet approved any asset-for-share swap, which is subject to a third-party valuation and fairness opinion by an independent financial advisor.

Solar Philippines began developing this pipeline in 2015. Its portfolio now comprises over 20 solar project companies, which include over 400 megawatts (MW) already operating or under construction and over 10 GW in development, according to DoE figures.

These developments are located primarily in the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Bulacan and Tarlac, where Solar Philippines has spent the past years consolidating land suitable for solar in relative proximity to the Greater Manila Area.

Solar Philippines has recently formed joint ventures for several of its projects. The company plans to complete forming joint ventures for its 10 GW of solar project developments within 2022, with its interest in these projects subject to the potential asset-for-share swaps with SPNEC.

SPNEC’s statement comes as the Manila Electric Co. published an invitation to challenge the unsolicited proposal of Terra Solar, a joint venture of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. and Solar Philippines, for the supply of 850 MW of mid-merit capacity for up to 13 hours a day from a minimum 2,500 MW solar and 4,000 MW-hour battery plant.

Source: The Manila Times