Enfinity taps Indian firm for solar plant

MANILA, Philippines - The local unit of Belgium-based solar energy developer Enfinity N.V has tapped an Indian firm to build a 28.6-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Davao.

Enfinity Philippines Renewable Resources Inc. said it has partnered with solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm Sterling and Wilson to build the solar project in San Roque, Digos, Davao.

The project will be put up under the Department of Energy’s Solar Power Procurement Program and the feed-in-tariff (FIT) mechanism.

In April, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) announced the adoption of an P8.69 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) FIT rate for solar technology to accommodate the 500-MW increased allocation for this technology.

To be eligible to receive the new FIT rate, developers have until March 2016 complete their projects.

Sterling and Wilson said it is committed to deliver the project within six months from July 2015.

“We are confident that our superior engineering capabilities, experience, and expertise in setting up solar power plants internationally will enable us to deliver Enfinity Philippines Renewable Resources Inc. with a solar solution that will exceed predicted plant performance levels,” Sterling and Wilson’s electrical and solar business president Bikesh Ogra said.

Sterling and Wilson will use Hanwha’s Solar one modules of 310 watt peak (Wp) power rating with central inverter solution for this project.

In building the power plant, the Indian firm said the structural design will take into consideration high wind speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour and cyclones that are common in the Davao region.

As the creek divides the plant, it will prepare an array layout so as not to affect the generation as well natural water flow. A drainage system will also be provided for discharge of rainwater into the existing natural stream.

Once completed, the plant’s output power will be relayed through a 69 kilovolt (kV) substation and overhead transmission line of eight kilometers to the nearest National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) substation.

The Davao power plant is among the four projects Enfinity targets to complete within the year. The other projects are located in Clark, Pampanga; in Concepcion, Tarlac; and in Cavite.

These four projects have an investment cost pegged at $180 million or roughly P8 billion.

In the next three years, Enfinity Philippines aims to build a portfolio of 500 MW of solar power plants.