99-MW solar park rising in South Cotabato

A 99-megawatt (MW) solar park is being built in South Cotabato, providing a needed boost to Mindanao’s power supply, the Department of Energy (DOE) said.

In a statement on Thursday, the DOE said Apolaki Seven Inc. and German firm ib vogt GmbH are developing the Tantangan Solar Power Project.

Construction works for have already begun, with the 40-MW first phase slated for completion by December 2026.

The DOE said the project, the output from which can energize at least 82,000 households, was awarded under the government’s green energy auction (GEA) 2.

Also, the DOE said that the solar facility would help Mindanao “reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels,” as well as trigger job creation in the region.

Once up and running, the solar park is expected to generate over 150,000 megawatt-hours of clean electricity per year. It can also help reduce 66,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions yearly.

“Today, we do more than break ground on a state-of-the-art solar facility, we celebrate a vital step toward our national energy aspirations under the National Renewable Energy Program,” DOE Undersecretary Mylene Capongcol said in the statement.

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“This project contributes meaningfully to our goal of increasing the renewable energy share in our power mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040,” Capongcol said.

Currently, renewables’ share in the electricity generation mix is 22 percent.

The government has been encouraging investors to build more renewable projects across the country. Supporting this goal is the DOE’s GEA program, which provides developers with incentivized fixed power rates.