Earlier this month the largest solar power project in South-east Asia was commissioned in the Philippines. The project is a clear demonstration of the fact that Philippines is a rapidly emerging solar power market in South-east Asia.
Two solar power projects with total installed capacity of 185 MW were commissioned in Philippines. This includes the largest project in South-east Asia – 135 MW project now operational at Cadiz. According to local media reports, the project has been established with a total investment of $200 million.
The project, apart from being the largest in the Philippines and South-east Asia, is also the 7th largest solar power project in the world. The project is expected to generate around 188,500 MWh every year, offsetting almost 95,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.
The project is owned by real estate developer Gregorio Araneta and developed by Singapore-based Soleq.
Germany-based Conergy also commissioned a 50 MW project in the country this month. The project is expected to generate over 78,000 MWh every year enough to power 31,700 households.
After the Renewable Energy Law was approved in 2008 a surge in renewable energy capacity addition was seen in the Philippines. The government had announced a feed-in tariff scheme wherein projects were offered ¢0.21 per kWh. The tariff scheme attracted overwhelming response from project developers, forcing the government to expand the capacity under the program from 50 MW to 500 MW.
With these two new projects increased the total number of operational solar power projects in the country to 11 with total installed capacity of over 400 MW.
