Philippines 2nd largest market for Conergy

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines will become the second largest market of Conergy Group, a Germany-based global provider of photovoltaic (PV) solutions and services, when it completes its ongoing projects in March 2016, a ranking company official said yesterday.

Conergy has so far completed 55-megawatt peak (MWp) of solar projects in the country and still has 219 MWp projects being built, Conergy Asia & ME Pte. Ltd. president Alexander Lenz said in a briefing.

He said these projects would be completed before the March 2016 deadline for the second round of solar under the feed-in tariff (FIT) mechanism.

FIT is a set of incentives given to power developers to invest in the more expensive RE sector. 

Solar developers that are able to complete and produce power from their projects before the deadline will be eligible to receive the new P8.69 per kilowatt hour (kwh) FIT rate, among other incentives.

Once completed, Conergy will have built a of total 274 MWp solar projects in the country.

This will make the Philippines Conergy’s second strongest market next to the United Kingdom, which currently has 286 MW installed capacity, Lenz noted.

“The Philippines will be our most important market next year,” he said.

So far, Conergy’s completed projects include the 45-MW San Carlos Solar Energy Inc. (SaCaSol) in Negros Occidental, the country’s first and largest solar power farm, and 10-MW solar farm of Raslag Corp. in Mexico, Pampanga.

Conergy recently signed new contracts with Negros Island Solar Power Inc. (islaSol) to build two new solar power plants in La Carlota and Manapla in Negros Occidental with a combined solar capacity of 62 MWp, both of which will be completed in the first quarter next year.

For the La Carlota II project in particular, it will have an installed capacity of 14 MWp, which is an extension of an 18-MWp solar power plant Conergy is currently building. 

“Our partnership with Conergy has contributed to the successful implementation of our solar projects and we are delighted to have them on board to continue the quality design and engineering for islaSol,” islaSol president Jose Maria P. Zabaleta said.

IslaSol is a joint venture between the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure (PINAI), a fund managed by Macquarie Infrastructure Management (Asia) Pty Ltd., and Bronzeoak Philippines.

For these two new islaSol projects in La Carlota and Manapla, Conergy will be working with local partners SCHEMA Konsult Inc. and Phesco Inc, respectively for the on-ground construction. All plants are expected to be completed by the first quarter of next year.

Conergy previously closed six other new solar projects – including 50 MWp in Tarlac, 13 MWp in Pampanga, 18 MWp in (Bais) Negros, 15 MWp in Bulacan and 43 MWp at two locations in Luzon and Visayas.

In Southeast Asia, the German solar PV provider will have a total 231 MWp of new contracts confirmed in the past three months, including the 30 MWp of new contracts Conergy signed in Thailand and Indonesia.