Yuchengco-led EcoSolar Energy Corp. (ESEC) announced that its 22.5 megawatt / 45 megawatt-hour Panitan Energy Storage Project in Capiz began testing and commissioning as a generation facility last week. The development follows the facility’s market registration approval from the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines and its Provisional Certificate of Approval to Connect from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, the company said in a statement Tuesday.
As the first battery energy storage system in Capiz, the facility is expected to address long-running power interruptions and high electricity rates across the Visayas amid tight energy and reserve supplies, ESEC president Francisco Delfin Jr. said. “This energization milestone is very timely as our Panitan BESS facility can help alleviate the protracted blackouts and high retail power costs in the Visayas due to limited energy and reserve supplies in the region. It also testifies to our commitment and contribution towards a more modern and resilient energy infrastructure for the country,” Delfin added. The company aims to complete remaining testing requirements as soon as possible, hoping to deliver more reliable power for Visayan communities this coming Christmas season.
ESEC is a subsidiary of PetroGreen Energy Corp., a joint venture between the Yuchengco Group’s PetroEnergy Resources Corp. (PERC) and Japan’s Kyuden International Corp. Beyond this battery facility, the company is also moving forward with the 90 megawatt Panitan Solar Project, which was selected under the Department of Energy’s fourth Green Energy Auction round and is set to feed clean energy into the Visayas grid by mid-2028.
For PERC, the project forms part of a growing renewable energy portfolio that already includes the 27-megawatt Dagohoy solar farm in Bohol, the 19.6-megawatt San Jose solar facility in Nueva Ecija, the 32-megawatt Maibarara geothermal plant in Batangas, and the 70-megawatt Tarlac solar power project. The company also maintains oil operations overseas, where a third-phase drilling campaign in Gabon, Africa is underway and scheduled to wrap up by late this year, targeting a production rise from 15,000 to 18,000 barrels per day.
