EDC to expand Burgos solar power plant in Philippines

As of end-December, EDC had a total power portfolio of 1,441 MW — of which 1,159 MW are geothermal energy facilities. The rest covers solar energy, wind powerand hydro projects.

The Energy Development Corp. (EDC) plans to expand its 4.1 megawatts solar power facility in Burgos, Ilocos Norte with a “perfect formula.”

ENERGY DEVELOPMENT Corp. (EDC), the country’s largest geothermal power producer, plans to rapidly expand its solar power business due to strong growth potential in the segment.

 

 

EDC President and Chief Operating Officer Richard Tantoco said the expansion of the plant in Barangay Saoit could be done in the next few years.

“We believe that we can expand this portfolio rapidly in the coming years,” Tantoco said.

Erwin O. Avante, EDC Vice President and Head of Corporate Finance Division, said the major challenge for expansion of a solar facility is to have a “perfect formula.”

“We face a challenge to make it work (solar expansion). You need to have the perfect formula, which is high irradiance, good site that is close to a transmission line and cheap land,” said Avante.

Since putting up a solar facility is a race, the contest boils down in looking for the right and best location, Avante said.

“I think the battle now is where we can harvest more solar resources,” he said.

Avante said EDC’s existing 4.1 MW solar plant can generate a full year revenue of P50 to P60 million.

The Department of Energy granted the project a Certificate of Endorsement for Feed-in-Tariff eligibility starting March 2, which was its commissioning date.

EDC earlier asked the Energy Regulatory Commission for approval to spend P17.5 million in building a facility that will allow its Burgos solar power plant to dispatch power to electricity distributor Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative, Inc. (INEC).

According to ERC, EDC wants to develop, own and operate dedicated point-to-point facilities to connect to the transmission system of INEC.

The interconnection project entails the development of a 1.6-kilometer, 13.2-kilovolt distribution line, distribution cables, concrete poles and other related facilities.

The solar facility, built on a 5.5-hectare site, is consist of 13,500 photovoltaic solar panels and 70 inverters.

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