With its second phase recently coming online, the 159 MWp Laoag Solar Power Plant in Aguilar, Pangasinan (pictured) commenced exporting much-needed electricity to the grid over the weekend.
Given tight supply conditions, Aboitiz Renewables, Inc. (ARI), the renewable energy (RE) arm of Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower), announced the timely inclusion of the 159 megawatt peak (MWp) Laoag Solar Power Plant in Aguilar, Pangasinan to help provide additional capacity and help minimize grid strain.
A series of yellow and red alerts were declared in the country’s main grids in the past few weeks due to forced outages of some power plants and rising power demand amidst high temperatures. Yellow alerts indicate insufficient operating margins to meet contingency requirements, while red alerts signify inadequate power supply to meet consumer demand.
“Together with the 94 MWp Cayanga-Bugallon Solar Power facility — also built on sloping, non-agricultural land in Pangasinan and energized last October 2023 — both solar projects will account for about 200 megawatts (MW) of total sellable capacity that will eventually contribute much-needed electricity to the grid. We are eager to contribute to our country’s journey toward energy security, especially during these challenging times,” said Aboitiz Renewables Inc. President Jimmy Villaroman.
Flat agricultural land is often repurposed as solar fields, wherein one MW of solar power generation requires about one hectare of land. By consciously building on non-arable soil, AboitizPower can help keep more farmers on the land, protect valuable farmland, and support the agricultural economy.
The 94 MWp Cayanga-Bugallon Solar Power facility was built on non-arable sloping ground instead of the usual flat fields fit for agriculture.
Following these solar power projects, the 17 MW Tiwi Binary Geothermal Power Plant will also come online within the second quarter of this year. Co-located with the Tiwi Geothermal Power Plant in Albay, the binary plant harvests residual heat from the hot brine side of the geothermal production process, otherwise unutilized before reinjecting back to the earth, to produce more electricity.
Meanwhile, the 24 MW Magat battery energy storage system (BESS) — which began commercial operations in January 2024 — is primarily being used for ancillary services to augment supply in the Luzon grid. The project is under the SN Aboitiz Power Group, which is a joint venture between Scatec and AboitizPower.
Through ARI, AboitizPower’s initial expansion phase covers 1,200 MW of new capacities, which includes Laoag, Cayanga-Bugallon, Tiwi, Magat BESS, and 218 MW of projects that started construction, among others. The second phase of AboitizPower’s expansion will see another 1,700 MW of new solar and wind power.
Aligned with the Philippine government’s target of a 35% RE share in the nation’s energy mix by 2030 and 50% by 2040, AboitizPower had indicated its goal to build 3,700 MW of new RE capacity — including projects in solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro — en route to 4,600 MW by 2030.