AboitizPower to build solar projects in Negros, Zambales

MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz Power Corp. is set to build new solar facilities in Negros Occidental and Zambales to add to the company’s growing renewable energy portfolio.

AboitizPower, through subsidiary Aboitiz Renewables Inc. (ARI), will develop a 173 megawatt (MW) solar power project in Calatrava, Negros Occidental, and a 211-MW solar power project in Olongapo, Zambales.

“We are looking to begin the construction of our Calatrava Solar and Olongapo Solar projects this year on the way to achieving our growth strategy of providing an additional 3,700 megawatts of renewable energy by the next decade,” AboitizPower president and CEO Emmanuel Rubio said.

The Calatrava solar power project is expected to export electricity to the grid via the Calatrava substation as soon as December 2024.

Its construction is targeted to start in September within an approximate land area of 143 hectares.

The project will be undertaken by SUMEC Complete Equipment and Engineering Co. Ltd., the same firm currently completing the 159-MWp Laoag Solar project of PV Sinag Inc.

Meanwhile, the Olongapo solar project is ARI’s largest solar project by far.

Project construction is also eyed to commence in September and commercial operations is seen by September 2025 to provide electricity through the Castillejos substation.

It will be built within an approximate land area of 196 hectares, to be undertaken by a joint venture between Guangdong Electric Power Design Institute Co. LTD. and parent company China Energy International Group Co. Ltd.

AboitizPower said Calatrava Solar and Olongapo Solar bring the company’s solar projects to five.

Its other solar projects include San Carlos Sun Power Inc. in Negros Occidental and the Laoag and Cayanga solar projects in Pangasinan.

“While we have very humble intentions, we are aligned with the ambitious goal to help the country usher in a just and balanced energy transition. Our customers want clean, affordable and dependable energy, and we want to deliver that,” ARI president and CEO James Villaroman said.

AboitizPower currently has a pipeline of close to 1,000 megawatts of disclosed renewable energy projects, including developing wind and solar farms throughout the country, as well as geothermal.

The company is targeting to have a total of 4,600 MW of clean energy and a 50:50 balance between its renewable and thermal capacities by 2030.