German firm tapped for 50-MW Tarlac solar plant

MANILA, Philippines - German solar giant Conergy Group, one of the world’s largest suppliers of photovoltaic (PV) energy, has been tapped to build the 50-megawatt Tarlac Solar Power Project (TSPP).

Conergy has been awarded a new contract by PetroSolar Corp., a joint venture between PetroGreen Energy Corp. (PGEC) and EEI Power Corp., to construct the solar power plant in the 55-hectare property in Tarlac near Hacienda Luisita.

The new free-field installation plant measures 550,003 square meters and can produce 78,070 megawatt hours per year of clean energy to 31,700 households in the area. The solar power plant is also expected to save approximately 47,800 tons of carbon emissions yearly.

On-ground construction at the site will be executed in partnership with local construction firm Phesco Inc. and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2016.

“This project will utilize similar solar solutions as what we’ve deployed at our other projects in the country which have performed very well and we expect this project to deliver similar success,” Conergy Asia and Middle East president Alexander Lenz said.

Conergy added Tarlac is highly favorable for PV development considering it is situated in the central plains of Luzon with around 75 percent of land consisting of flat terrain.

“Everything we do is inspired by our mission to power the world by harnessing the power of the sun, paving the way for building greener communities that are less dependent on fossil fuels,” Lenz said.

With subsidiaries in 15 countries, Conergy specializes in the design, finance, build and operation of high performance solar systems for houses, businesses and utility-scale power.

The solar power plant in Tarlac will be the second solar farm Conergy will construct in Luzon. The first was in Pampanga which has an installed capacity of 10 MW. The solar company also has a 63-MW installed capacity in the cities of San Carlos and La Carlota in Negros Occidental.

Furthermore, PetroSolar sees the huge potential and benefits of the renewable energy (RE) sector in the Philippines.

“PetroGreen Energy Corp. and EEI Power Corp. continue to carefully select for investments in renewable energy. PGEC and EEIPC decided to go into solar energy, and thus incorporated PetroSolar Corp. to undertake the Tarlac Solar Power Project. PetroSolar intends for the TSPP to be granted the feed-in-tariff (FIT) for solar projects and is thus geared towards completing the project on time,” PetroSolar president Milagros Reyes said.