Aboitiz, SunEdison team up for P3.5-B Negros solar plant

MANILA, Philippines - A unit of Aboitiz Power Corp. has formed a joint venture with SunEdison Philippines Helios BV for the development of a P3.5-billion, 59-megawatt (MW) solar project in Negros Occidental.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, AboitizPower said its wholly-owned unit Aboitiz Renewables Inc. (ARI) signed a shareholders’ agreement with SunEdison Philippines to form Maaraw Holdings San Carlos Inc.

The deal is “to formalize the equity sharing, governance structure, and other terms and conditions of ARI and SunEdison partnership.” The AboitizPower unit will have a 60 percent stake and the local arm of California-based solar power developer SunEdison Inc. will cover the remaining 40 percent in the joint venture company.

Maaraw Holdings will undertake the acquisition, development and exploration of the 59-MW solar photovoltaic power generation project in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.

This will be AboitizPower and SunEdison’s first joint solar power project since both companies struck a deal in November 2014 to explore, develop, construct and operate up to 300 MW of utility-scale solar photovoltaic power generation projects in the Philippines over the next three years.

For the Negros solar project, AboitizPower and SunEdison have engaged Nari Group Corp. as engineering, procurement and construction(EPC) contractor.

Nari Group has successfully completed more than 30 projects in the Philippines.

AboitizPower said the Negros solar energy project is set for commercial operations in the first quarter of 2016 and will be one of the largest solar power projects in the Philippines.

“This project is in support of the call by the government to maximize the renewable energy potential of the country. AboitizPower is one of the biggest renewable energy producers in the country and we will continue to expand this capacity. This project is a testament to that commitment,” AboitizPower president and COO Antonio Moraza said.

“AboitizPower will continue to pursue the right mix of energy sources to ensure reliability and a reasonable cost of power to the end consumers,” Moraza added.

AboitizPower and its partners currently produce a total 3,044 MW of power, 40-percent of which are coming from its Cleanergy portfolio made up of hydro and geothermal power plants.

Along with its partners, the company is committed to increase its total capacity by over 2,000 MW in the next five years.

The company is expanding its renewable energy portfolio to solar and geothermal, consistent with its plans to provide the country with the right energy mix.

On top of the 300 MW solar projects with SunEdison in the medium term, AboitizPower is also eyeing to develop 200 MW in potential run-of-river power projects located across the archipelago over the next five years.