PH’s largest solar park to rise in Nueva Ecija

October 4, 2021, 3:10 pm

MANILA – The Philippines is expected to enhance its renewable energy sources in the next years, since the country's largest solar park will be developed in Nueva Ecija.

In a statement issued on Monday, Solar Philippines announced the formation of the Solar Energy Zones, Inc. (SEZ) to host solar power projects on its 10,000-hectare territory in Batangas, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac.

Due to rising demand, there is a lack of land to create new solar power plants, according to Leandro Leviste, founder of Solar Philippines.

According to Leviste, the SEZ was inspired by solar parks in India, where enterprises may co-locate for their solar projects.

"Our goal is no longer to compete with the country's power companies, but to assist them to create projects," he said, adding that "solar will soon become the Philippines' greatest source of new energy."

The SEZ, according to Leviste, will assist businesses in constructing large-scale solar farms.. "Now that the electricity industry is convinced," he continued, "we're making these locations available to assist others enter the market."

SEZ will announce further locators in the next months who will be building solar projects in the next five years.

Solar Philippines stated, "The capacity of these will be multiple times bigger than the country's total solar capacity to date, making solar a major share of the country's energy mix."

During the Duterte administration and beyond, the Department of Energy (DOE) seeks to increase the country's renewable energy supplies. According to DOE data, 7,399 megawatts of clean energy were installed between 2016 and 2020.

Alfonso Cusi, the Secretary of the Department of Energy, previously stated that developing renewable energy, of which solar power is a major component, is part of the country's commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement. (PNA) https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1155515