In photo: EPC contract signing ceremony with Alsons Power President and CEO Antonio Miguel B. Alcantara (3rd from right) and POWERCHINA Asia Pacific President Zhou Jiayi (3rd from left).

Alsons Power has engaged Chinese infrastructure giant POWERCHINA—through its subsidiaries Sinohydro Corporation Limited and POWERCHINA Philippines Corporation—to convert its 55-MW Southern Philippines Power Corporation (SPPC) diesel plant in Alabel, Sarangani into a 98.7 MWac solar power facility, signaling a major fuel-to-renewables asset repurposing in Mindanao.

The Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract covers Phase 1 of the SPPC Solar Power Project, which will deliver 45 MWac and is scheduled to begin development in the second quarter of 2026.

The project is part of the Green Energy Auction Program Round 4 (GEAP-4), securing long-term offtake arrangements that underpin its commercial viability and delivery timeline.

In an official announcement, Alsons Power President and CEO Antonio Miguel B. Alcantara said the collaboration with POWERCHINA is central to accelerating the project’s execution and reinforcing the company’s energy transition strategy.

“We are excited to begin the transition of our fossil fuel assets into renewable energy facilities,” he said. “This marks more than the start of a major project. It is a decisive step toward a more diversified energy portfolio and a more energy-secure future.”

Alcantara added that the partnership is expected to strengthen delivery certainty for the project, which targets completion ahead of its GEAP-4 obligation in September 2027.

“We are confident that our partnership with POWERCHINA, given its strong track record and technical expertise, will ensure the successful completion of SPPC Solar, ahead of our GEAP-4 delivery target in September 2027,” Alcantara said. “This collaboration reinforces our commitment to support the country’s energy transition and build a more sustainable and resilient power system.”

Beyond Phase 1, Alsons Power is advancing preparatory work for Phase 2, which will evaluate the integration of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity with a battery energy storage system (BESS). 

The storage component is expected to improve grid stability, enable peak shaving, and reduce intermittency risks—key constraints as renewable penetration increases in the Mindanao grid.

The redevelopment effectively repurposes an existing diesel asset into a utility-scale renewable hub, allowing faster deployment compared with greenfield solar projects while optimizing existing site infrastructure.

Once fully operational, the 98.7 MWac facility is projected to supply electricity to about 104,000 households, contributing additional clean capacity to Mindanao’s power mix and supporting national renewable energy targets. 

What does the conversion of legacy diesel assets into solar-plus-storage hubs signal for the future of dispatchable power and energy security in the Philippines?

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