Solar Philippines starts operating 150 MW in Tarlac

MANILA, Philippines — Solar Philippines has started operating its 150-megawatt (MW) solar plant in Tarlac—considered as the largest solar farm in the country—to help ease the Luzon grid’s power shortage.

Solar Philippines founder and president Leandro Leviste said the Tarlac solar farm has a full capacity of 150 MW which can help address the Luzon grid’s power shortage, which in recent days has ranged from 100 to 200 MW.

The additional supply means averting rotating blackouts for up to 500,000 households, bigger than the entire residential demand of Tarlac.

Starting April, the Luzon power grid has been placed on red alert multiple times, with rotational brownouts occurring in various parts of the island due to the unplanned shutdown of several power plants.

The Department of Energy (DOE) warned that unscheduled shutdowns of coal plants would result in rotating blackouts and higher prices, as more expensive diesel plants run instead.

This month, customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) saw higher generation charge—the electricity bill’s biggest component—from P5.5973 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) to P5.6322 per kwh due to the tight supply conditions which pushed Wholesale Electricity Spot Market charges higher.