AboitizPower expands solar presence in Pangasinan

MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz Power Corp., the country’s leading generation firm, has further strengthened its solar portfolio with the energization of a new large-scale facility in Pangasinan.

Through Aboitiz Renewables Inc., the company has inaugurated the 92.55-megawatt-peak (MWp) San Manuel Solar Power Plant, its third solar project in Pangasinan.

“As demand for electricity continues to grow, power generation investments like San Manuel help strengthen our energy system, diversify our energy mix and support the Philippines’ long-term energy security,” AboitizPower president and CEO Danel Aboitiz said.

“We believe reliable, accessible and affordable power is key to national progress, and one way we contribute to this is by steadily expanding our renewable energy (RE) portfolio from around 900 MW in 2020 to 2.3 gigawatts of attributable net sellable capacity today,” he said.

Developed in coordination with the grid operator, local government units and host communities, the newly operational plant now injects clean power into the Luzon grid via the San Manuel 69-kilovolt substation.

“Every panel on this 92.5-MW solar plant is a promise kept – to the families who deserve stable, affordable electricity; to the workers who built something lasting right here in their own community; and to the next generation who will inherit the energy choices we make today,” Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said. In Pangasinan, Aboitiz Renewables also operates the 154-MWp Laoag 1 and the 94-MWp Cayanga-Bugallon solar power plants.

The company’s portfolio includes 45 RE projects across the country, spanning solar, hydro, geothermal and energy storage systems.

It also has a development pipeline of more than 1,800 MW of solar, hydro and wind projects.

AboitizPower currently accounts for 24.3 percent of the national market, sustaining its dominance in the power generation sector, according to the Energy Regulatory Commission.

ERC data also showed that the company led all three major grids, capturing market shares of 27.53 percent in Luzon, 16.99 percent in the Visayas and 14.85 percent in Mindanao.