Tarlac town makes pitch as Luzon solar hub

MANILA, Philippines - The local government of Concepcion in Tarlac is promoting the town as the solar hub of Luzon amid growing interest of solar power developers in the area, its top executive said.

Concepcion could be a solar hub in the country after several companies expressed interest in building solar farms, Mayor Andres D. Lacson said in an interview.

“There are solar companies interested in acquiring, leasing lands here because they said this area is the most ideal site to establish solar plants,” he said.

Enfinity Philippines Renewable Sources Inc. recently held a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the installation of its P3.6-billion, 50.55-megawatt (MW) solar project in Concepcion, the biggest in the country to date.

The solar project will be installed in five months and will start operating in the first quarter of 2016.

Apart from the Enfinity project, Lacson said there are two to three more companies that have expressed intent to develop solar farms.

“There are two to three companies who approached us aside from Enfinity. Enfinity set the pace for solar developments,” he said.

With Enfinity’s investment as well as other prospective developers, the Concepcion chief noted the local government is working on making the town a solar hub not only of Central Luzon, but of the whole Luzon.

“What we’re doing for Concepcion is, by next year, it will be a renewable energy (RE) hub of Central Luzon because we will be having the biggest solar project to date,” Lacson said.

Apart from housing several solar developments, the Tarlac town aims to offer educational tours about the plants.

“This will be a site for study tour for students about energy and showcase RE solar plants,” Lacson said.