19 green power projects cleared for grid impact study

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) has endorsed 19 green energy projects for system impact study (SIS) with the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

The SIS endorsements were issued in September, of which 16 are new applications and three are amendments to the previously issued clearances.

Of the total, 17 are renewable energy (RE) developments, while the remaining two are waste-to-energy (WTE) and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects.

A grid impact study is conducted to determine the capacity of the power grid to accommodate a new connection and identify necessary improvements such as additional transmission lines, transformers or substations.

Among the biggest projects by capacity endorsed last month are Vortex Offshore Wind Corp.’s 1,000-megawatt Mindoro offshore wind project, North Luzon Green and Sustainable Energy Inc.’s 478.2-MW-peak Pangasinan solar project and Tuy Solar Power Corp.’s 425.3-MWp Batangas solar project.

The list also includes wpd Philippines Onshore Inc.’s 400-MW Ilocos onshore wind project and 150-MW Antique onshore wind project, First Gen Visayas Energy Inc.’s 100-MW wind project in Lanao del Norte, Energija Sur 2 Inc.’s 40-MW BESS in Laguna and MC Project Solutions Inc.’s 200-MW wind projects in Cebu.

Likewise, SIS endorsements were also issued to The Blue Circle Philippines Mindoro Corp.’s 112-MW wind project in Oriental Mindoro, Sta. Ignacia Tarlac Solar Power Corp.’s 20-MWp Tarlac solar projects, Manila Integrated Environment Corp.’s 100-MW WTE facility and Freya Renewables Inc.’s 79.96-MWp Leyte solar project.

The DOE also cleared Kanji Solar Inc.’s 70-MWp Isabela solar project, Linglingay Power Corp.’s 97.2-MWp Isabela solar project, Citicore Wind Energy Corp.’s 50-MW wind project in Camarines Sur, Cleanergy 2 Inc.’s 209.56-MWp solar project in Isabela and Exzal Renewable Energy Corp.’s 100-MWp Albay-Sorsogon solar project.

Since January, the agency has endorsed a total of 148 power generation projects, consisting of 143 RE, four BESS and one WTE.

Last month, the DOE also recommended 12 power projects to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for commercial operations.

Latest DOE data showed that 12 certificates of endorsement were issued to ERC in September, bringing the year-to-date issued COE count to 117.

Of the total endorsements last month, five are conventional projects, four are RE and three are BESS.

The COE is a requirement for the issuance of a certificate of compliance (COC) by the ERC, which is necessary for any generation company prior to starting commercial operations.