AboitizPower activates Tarlac solar project

MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz Power Corp., chaired by tycoon Sabin Aboitiz, has bolstered the country’s clean energy targets with the activation of its first solar power plant in Central Luzon.

AboitizPower, through its renewable energy arm Aboitiz Renewables Inc., recently energized the 45-megawatt-peak (MWp) Armenia solar farm in Tarlac.

“The Armenia solar project gives Aboitiz Renewables and AboitizPower great pride, being able to contribute our part to the diversification of the Philippine power mix,” Aboitiz Renewables president Jimmy Villaroman said.

He also reaffirmed the company’s commitment to helping the country “build and strengthen a cleaner energy system for the future.”

The Tarlac project, which is AboitizPower’s fourth energized solar facility, is integrated into the Luzon grid via an 11.58-kilometer transmission line that traverses five towns in the province.

“We appreciate the help of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines in integrating Armenia into the grid. There is no energy transition without transmission, so we thank them for their support,” Villaroman said.

Earlier, AboitizPower activated the 59-MWp San Carlos Sun Power Inc. power plant in Negros Occidental, the 94-MWp Cayanga-Bugallon solar facility and the 159-MWp Laoag solar farm in Pangasinan.

AP Renewables Inc., the geothermal unit of Aboitiz Renewables, also intends to develop the Bay battery energy storage system project in Laguna.

It recently signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Chinese firm Shandong Electric Power Engineering Consulting Institute Co. Ltd. to build the facility.

Upon completion, the Laguna project is poised to become the first-ever battery storage and geothermal hybrid system in the Philippines.

As the energy arm of the Aboitiz Group, AboitizPower also plans to further invest in thermal power plants to support the country’s baseload and peak energy demands.

These developments bode well for the company’s goal of scaling up its renewable energy capacity to 4,600 over the next six years.

To date, AboitizPower’s portfolio includes over 1,000 MW of disclosed projects from various indigenous energy sources while pursuing opportunities to expand its renewable capacity.