The Department of Energy (DOE) has classified the NKS Solar One project, a joint venture between Blueleaf Energy Philippines and NKS Energy Utilities, an energy project of national significance (EPNS).
Such recognition, under Executive Order (EO) 30, extends over the project a systematic, organized, and speedy processing of the necessary permits from national and local government units to speed up its completion.
The company is developing a 250 megawatt peak (MWp) floating solar facility at the Caliraya and Lumot Lakes in Laguna and touted as the first utility-scale floating solar project in the Philippines.
“We are honored and excited to receive this national recognition. This sends a strong message that our project aligns with the national government’s priorities to address the country’s urgent need for more energy,” said Andre Pablo Fausto III, NKS Solar One president.
EO 30 was signed by then President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017 creating the Energy Investment Coordinating Council designed to streamline the regulatory procedure affecting energy projects of national importance.
Under the implementing rules and regulations, the processing of permits and licenses shall complete within 30 days maximum for projects declared as EPNS, starting from the complete submission of the documentary requirements to the relevant agencies involved in the permitting process.
Certificate holders are also presumed to have already complied with the requirements and permits from other government permitting agencies.
NKS Solar One’s 250 MWp floating solar project qualified for incentivized rates under the DOE’s second round of the Green Energy Auction Program in 2023.
The floating solar project is scheduled to come online early in 2026.
