Meralco not keen on solar power venture

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s largest power distribution firm, is not keen on investing in solar power development, a top company official said.

Meralco president Oscar Reyes, in a chance interview with The STAR, said while their company is looking at several renewable energy (RE) projects like wind power, they are not likely to engage in solar power development at the moment.

“We are looking at opportunities on various power plant sources – coal, LNG, RE and wind are among them. We have to get people to engage in solar. Solar is a possibility but now we are not actively pursuing it,” he said.

Reyes said they also have not firmed up yet the amount of capital they would pour in possible RE projects.

Earlier, Meralco chairman Manuel Pangilinan said renewable energy (RE) would not form a substantial portion of the generation portfolio of Meralco Power Generation Corp., Meralco’s power generation unit.

Meralco’s decision not to deal much on RE projects came despite the government’s effort to firm up rates for the feed-in tariff (FIT).

FIT gives RE developers a guaranteed return by providing a fixed rate that would be charged on consumers over a period of time.

“I do not think wind farms or renewables will fill the gap we see in the next 10 to 15 years,” Pangilinan was quoted as saying.

Meralco Powergen is looking at an installed power generation capacity of 2,500 megawatts (MW) from now until 2020.

Of this, the power firm may accommodate several wind farms that will generate a total of 100 to 200 MW.