Solar power too hard to resist

Mercurio, R. (2014 May 29) Malaya. 
Retrieved from http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news


Property developer turned power producer San Lorenzo Ruiz Builders and Developers Group, Inc. (SLRB) is now among the developers which find investing in solar power too hot to resist.

Anthony C. Violago, SLRB chief operating officer, told Business Insight that the company plans to invest in solar power on top of its recently-announced $2.5-billion investment for large-scale hydro power projects across the country.

“We are looking at some solar projects because we do have an American partner which is very big in the solar industry,” Violago said, referring to Iowa-based MidAmerican Energy Co .

“We’re more on renewable energy because that is where we started in Casecnan. For one, it helps the environment. Coal, meanwhile, as we know is dirty,” he added.

According to Violago, SLRB intends to partner with MidAmerican  for the small-scale solar projects it is planning to put up in the country.

MidAmerican served as SLRB’s partner in the company’s maiden power project, the 150-megawatt (MW) Casecnan hydropower plant in Nueva Ecija which has been operational since 2001.

“They (MidAmerican) were our partner for Casecnan so we’re trying to invite them again for new projects. They are putting up a $3-billion solar plant in Nevada so they’re quite experienced and that is why we’re trying to invite them to partner with us,” he said.

“We do have prospective sites (for our solar projects) but we do not want to disclose it yet, somebody might get it ahead of us,” Violago added.

Solar projects are now among the hottest investment areas in the power sector. Industry experts estimate investment in solar at  $3 million per megawatt.

Data from the Department of Energy (DOE) show that there are  some 19 pending solar project applications with a combined capacity of 266.70 MW.

The interest in solar power investments  stems from the decreasing cost of solar panels as of late, the DOE said.

The Philippine Solar Power Alliance Inc. (PSPA) said that prices of solar panels have plunged to P150,000 per kilowatt (kW), just a third of their price  five years ago.

The DOE reported an oversubscription for solar under the feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme with so many interested developers trying to put up their own solar farms.

Government is currently looking at expanding the country’s installation allotment for solar power to 500 MW from the current 50 MW.

Aboitiz Power Corp., one of the biggest power players in the country, earlier said it is also looking at adding solar energy into its current renewable energy portfolio composed mostly of hydro and geothermal power facilities.


Mercurio, R. (2014 May 29). Solar power too hard to resist. Malaya. Retrieved from http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/business/solar-power-too-hard-resist

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