Belgian firm plans to put up one of largest solar power plants in RP

MANILA, Philippines - Belgium-based renewable energy firm Enfinity has expressed interest in building what could be one of the biggest solar power facilities in the Philippines.

Industry sources said Enfinity is eyeing to put up a 50 megawatt to 100 megawatt (MW) solar power plant inside the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga.

It was learned that the Belgian power developer is now in “serious” discussions for a possible lease agreement with officials of the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) on the proposed project. CDC is the government entity running the operation of the freeport.

Sources said Enfinity’s proposal would be an ideal project since it will redound to savings for to the zone locators.

Clark has about 90 locators. The area covers around 30,000 hectares located 100 kilometers north of Manila.

If the project pushes through, buyers of power will save on transmission costs as it will be directly located inside the economic zone.

According to sources, there is no definite project cost yet but as a rule of thumb, a solar project normally commands around $2.5 million to $3 million in investment per MW.

It was also learned that Enfinity expects to secure the approval this week of the CDC for the project.

Enfinity is eyeing the Philippines as one of its investment havens. The company, in fact, said it is willing to pour in as much as $1 billion for renewable energy projects in the Philippines.

“The Philippines is one of the most important promoters of renewable energy in the Asian region. The government passed the Renewable Energy Act which is paving the way for quick development of alternative energy sources. Enfinity sees much opportunities in solar energy which could either be rooftop or land-based installation,” Gino Van Neer, Enfinity co-founder and Enfinity Asia Pacific CEO, earlier said.

In the near term, Enfinity said it expects to generate about 500 MW from solar and wind projects with the help of prospective local partners.

Enfinity is one of Europe’s leading power producers and one of the worlds top 10 players with $1.5 billion owned and operated power projects. Enfinity’s turnover grew 200 percent from 83.6 million euros in 2008 to 252 million euros in 2009 and has over 200 employees.

Aside from Asia and Europe, Enfinity is also expanding its presence in North America.

In 2008, Enfinity Asia Pacific Ltd. was formed in Hong Kong to specifically focus on projects in Asia.

So far, it has a portfolio of ongoing solar and wind projects in 14 countries with China and India on the forefront. It is currently developing, financing and constructing a 1,000-MW photovoltaic solar installation on 3,000 acres in India.

Biomass, solar and wind will be among the major sources of energy in the next decade, accounting for more than a third of the country’s total energy demand.

The contribution of solar, wind and ocean will reach 0.6 MMBFOE (million barrels of fuels equilavent) in 2003 rising to 1.7 MMBFOE in 2007 and 3.0 MMBFOE in 2012. 

Contribution of wind, solar and biomass sources for non-power applications will comprise a large portion of total demand for renewable energy in the next 10 years. Demand for solar and wind energy sources is foreseen to grow with the implementation of the program to invigorate the market for solar water heaters and locally fabricated solar dryers and wind pumps.

Based on the 2001 inventory of solar technologies, a total of 5,120 solar systems have been installed, as follows: 4,619 solar photovoltaic (PV) systems; 433 solar water heaters; and 68 solar dryer systems.