One day, two new solar parks. The Philippines, along with Thailand, continue to lead the Southeast Asian region for the deployment of solar with two new utility scale arrays being opened on the same day this week.
At the opening ceremony of the solar plant in Cadiz senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, who authored the Renewable Energy Law of 2008, said that the new facility brings to 10 the total number of fully functional solar power plants in the Philippines, with a combined installed capacity of 377 MW.
The solar power plant in Cadiz City sits on a 176-hectare land of the 400-hectare property. According to the Philippine Information agency (PIA), the owners of the property are contemplating on converting the rest of the more than 200-hectare area into an economic zone.
As local media report, the Cadiz solar farm that cost about US$200 million. It is believed to be the biggest solar power plant in Southeast Asia and the seventh largest in the world. It is projected to produce 188,500 MWh of solar power per year, or enough to energize an estimated 167,526 households, save 177.7 million liters of water, and lower carbon emission by 94,627 tones per year.
The solar farm was built by Soleq, and more than 2,000 workers hired during its construction. The facility was connected to the grid two weeks ago, and initially dispatched an average of 30 MWh daily to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, Cadiz mayor Patrick Escalante said to the local media.
Escalante added that the solar project is seen to generate PHP45 million ($960,000) worth of annual revenues for the local government. According to Escalante, the facility has been fully operational for almost three weeks already and supplies a huge part of the provinces average power demand, estimated of be 200 MW.
On the same day Conergy, German PV solution and service provider, opened a 50 MW solar plant in Tarlac. The plant capable of producing 78,070 MWh per year will provide clean energy to approximately 31,700 households, the company reports.
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