Raslag gears up for expansion

MANILA, Philippines — Raslag Corp., the renewable energy developer of the Nepomuceno Group of Companies, is venturing outside Pampanga and beyond solar power as the company targets to double its capacity in 10 years.

“Now that we have at least five to six years of experience, we are now in a better position to expand because we have developed that confidence, experience and expertise,” Raslag founder and chairman Peter Nepomuceno said.

The company is scouting for properties outside Pampanga, where it was established and its solar projects are, as it plans to reach at least 250 megawatts (MW) in capacity in 10 years.

“We are negotiating for a property in Hermosa, Bataan. We’re looking at other properties in Bataan, in Zambales,” he said.

Starting with Bataan, the company is negotiating to purchase a 30-hectare property in the municipality of Hermosa.

“There are other areas we are looking into. You see, in getting land for solar, not just plain land, it has to be a land that has access to NGCP (National Grid Corp. of the Philippines) facilities so that you can connect to them,” Nepomuceno said.

Apart from solar, Raslag is also looking into battery energy storage systems (BESS) and wind.

“We are studying batteries, what they call BESS. We’re looking into that,” Nepomuceno said.

For wind, the company will consider other areas after its one-year wind feasibility tests failed in Porac, Pampanga.

“We put up wind testing towers in the Porac mountains, but it was very difficult. When there was heavy wind, the towers just fell. And there’s a problem of accessibility. When there is heavy rain, they become inaccessible.We gave up the twin towers in that area, but we could consider other areas,” he said.

The failed wind venture led Raslag to develop solar farms instead, with its first two projects namely the 10.046-megawatt peak (MWp) RASLAG-1 Solar Power Plant and 13.141-MWp Raslag-2 Solar Power Plant.

Both projects, located in Mexico, Pampanga, secured perks under the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) mechanism in 2016.

In the medium term, the company is working on the 18.011-MWp Raslag-3, the 35.2-MWp Raslag-4 Solar Power Plant, and the 60-MWp Raslag-5 Solar Power Plant.

Once completed, Raslag will have 136- MW in total capacity.

Raslag-3 is set for commercial operations by May 2. Raslag-4, which has project cost P1.5 billion, is targeted to start construction in the second quarter of 2023 with completion slated in March 2024.

With a project cost of P2.1 billion, Raslag-5 is eyed to begin construction in the second quarter of 2024, with completion and commercial commissioning in March 2025.

Raslag will allocate proceeds from its P700-million initial public offering (IPO) next month to partially bankroll Raslag-4 and Raslag-5.

Raslag plans to sell 350 million common shares at a price of up to P2 apiece. The public offer period will run from May 24 to 30, while the listing date is on June 6 under the stock symbol “ASLAG.”