Solar Philippines eyes Southeast Asian expansion

MANILA, Philippines - Solar Philippines is looking to build around 200 megawatts (MW) of solar farms in Indonesia, Myanmar and other parts of Southeast Asia in 2018, its top official said.

Solar Philippines founder and president Leandro Leviste said the company is actively participating in various bids for on-grid and off-grid power developments in the region.

“We’re participating in a lot of bids and other opportunities in Southeast Asia, and we believe by next year, we will complete at least 200 MW in Southeast Asia,” he said.

However, the company’s focus will be more on off-grid locations to be able to help in the electrification progress of peer countries.

“Within this year, we will complete pilot projects in Indonesia, Myanmar, and perhaps a few more countries with a lot of off-grid potential. In many of these places, international companies do not want to take a bet on rural areas with poor credit,” Leviste said.

If it secures contracts to build solar farms outside the country, the solar panels will be served by its solar factory in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, which was recently inaugurated as the country’s first solar manufacturing plant with President Duterte as guest of honor.

At 800-MW annual production capacity starting this year, the solar panel factory can produce solar panels more than the production capacity of the entire United States.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the inauguration of the first Filipino-owned solar panel facility in Batangas is a testament to the government’s progress in revitalizing the local renewable energy (RE) industry for the benefit of consumers and the economy.

“Investments in RE facilities and technologies can create more jobs,“ Cusi said. “We can also take pride in trading Filipino-made energy technologies, while also developing Filipino expertise in RE technologies.”

The RE investment also empowers consumers through more affordable and sustainable energy use, the energy chief said.

“The solar panel facility and similar investments on solar energy will support the implementation of vital renewable energy policies. This includes the net-metering program, which encourages consumers to become “prosumers.” This is done by the installation of solar rooftop systems in their properties and enable consumers to produce their own energy. In the end, it results to energy efficiency and savings on power cost,” Cusi said.

Leviste said they are eyeing to raise the factory’s annual capacity to 2,000 MW by mid-2018 to produce solar panels and solar cells to meet the requirements of its solar projects, of local distributors and exports to Chinese companies seeking to manufacture solar panels from Southeast Asia for export to the US and Europe, where governments imposed tariffs on solar panels made in China.

This means Solar Philippines will be able to meet its three-year target to manufacture 2,000 MW ahead by one year, he said. The company announced the target in 2016.

Solar Philippines is eyeing to have a portfolio of 1,000 MW solar projects here and abroad.

Earlier, Leviste said the company targets to complete its first international project within the year but did not disclose in which country it will be located.