French solar power firm commits P9B for Philippine plants

MANILA, Philippines - French solar power company Urbasolar has committed to infuse P9 billion from a consortium of European “green” funders to build 100 megawatts of solar plants in the Philippines this year.

The first of these plants is a 30-MW facility in Victoria City, Negros Occidental, said Urbasolar’s local partner SunAsia Energy.

Urbasolar has an 11 percent market share in the French solar space and covers all aspects of the value chain in the photovoltaic industry, from production of raw materials to the advanced smart grid applications, said SunAsia Energy president Tetchi Cruz-Capellan.

“The collaboration with Urbasolar began in September last year during the state visit of President Aquino to Paris,” she said.

Capellan said the policy environment created by the increased solar installation in the country, totalling 500 MW to date, plus a growing economy enticed Urbasolar to invest in the Philippine electricity market. 

She said as much as 8.6 million carbon emissions would be avoided when the 100-MW solar plants are utilized.

The construction of the 30-MW solar power plant scheduled in June this year would be in partnership with Miescor and the Development Bank of the Philippines, a government financial institution.

VictoriaSolar Energy, headed by Rey Bantug, owner of the biggest ethanol plant in the Philippines, provides local strategic leadership with its experience in renewable energy business particularly solar energy, Capellan said.

She expressed optimism that with the partnership of Urbasolar and SunAsia Energy, business and foreign capital would be deployed in the Philippines to achieve these social and environmental objectives.