Solenergy installs first airport PV array in Philippines

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It claims that the installation at the Mactan Cebu International Airport is the first PV array to be installed at an airport in the Southeast Asian country. GMCAC — a global consortium led by Indian infrastructure specialist GMR and and Quezon City-based Megawide Construction — awarded the project to the company.

The Manila-based solar solutions provider installed roughly 6,300 solar panels on the roof of terminal 1 of the airport, along with 65 Fronius Symo 24 kW 3-phase inverters. The array is expected to generate about 2.17 GWh of electricity per year.

“That will offset a considerable amount of the daytime load peaks for the second busiest airport in the Philippines,” it said in an emailed statement. “In recent years, airports around the world have been embracing solar power installations. With these facilities having large amounts of available space, both for rooftop, car park, and surrounding runways, they are in many ways an ideal fit for large-scale solar installations.”

Solenergy designed the racking system and tailored it to withstand the strong winds that are common in the Visayas region of the Philippines. It also included lightning protection devices.

It used Clenergy’s EZ-rack solution for the tin surface of the terminal roof, as well as Clenergy's Solar Matrix racking system on the concrete portion. It has also provided a system that will allow airport management to run the PV system in parallel with gensets, in the event of a power outage. In addition, the company has also been asked to design, supply and install panelized switchgear and resin encased busduct system, as part of efforts to re-engineer the terminal’s power room.

Last week, MRC Allied acquired a stake in a 50 MW solar plant in Castilla on the island of Leyte, which is in the Visayas region. The property developer paid P225 million ($4.4 million) to buy a 15% interest in the operational project from local power producer Sepalco.

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