The National Power Corp. (NPC), in tandem with the European Union (EU) and the World Bank (WB), has turned over completed solar power plants to electric cooperatives (ECs) in Samar, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat in ceremonies held Thursday in General Santos City.
The NPC said it has installed four 1-megawatt greenfield solar power plants and linked them to EC distribution networks with a total cost of 4.6 million euros or P280 million.
The project is part of the euro 66-million or P 3.8 billion grant to the Philippines through the Access to Sustainable Energy Program (ASEP) which is a joint undertaking of the EU and the Department of Energy but administered by the World Bank.
The plants connected to the distribution networks of South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative and the Sultan Kudarat Electric Cooperative were switched on at the ceremonies Thursday while the other two networks of Samar I and II Electric Cooperatives will be switched on by the end of September this year.
Ndiame Diop, WB country director for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, said the project is part of the organization’s commitment to promote sustainable energy solutions for inclusive growth in the Philippines.
The projects are set up as practical examples and benchmarks for scaling up renewable energy supplies among ECs.
The EU said its investments in solar energy will help make energy consumption in the target locations more environmentally sustainable while also contributing to diversifying energy supply and help in mitigating the effects of climate change.
Fernando Martin Roxas, NPC president and chief executive officer, said the solar power plants support the government’s endeavor in full electrification and renewable energy scale-up programs.
Earlier, the NPC turned over the photovoltaic mainstreaming project through the installation of 30,500 units of solar home systems in various areas in Mindanao.
Apart from managing 278 Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) power plants nationwide, mostly diesel-fired generator sets located in remote areas not connected to the main grid, the NPC oversees watersheds and help locate indigenous sources of power.
