EPC bidding for Aboitiz Pangasinan solar project being finalized

solar farm generic-magat floating solar

Aboitiz Power Corporation is finalizing the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract of its Cayanga-Bugallon solar power project in Pangasinan.

Upon completion, the project — currently in the development stage — is expected to to generate 74 megawatts (MW) or 94MW direct current.

“[The] engineering, procurement, and construction tendering process is in [the] final stages and target notice to proceed [NTP] is expected in the first week of December,” AboitizPower President Emmanuel Rubio announced during the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Investment Forum on Friday.

The EPC contractor shall commence construction of the solar power facility once the NTP is issued. The project is expected to be commercially operational by the fourth quarter of 2022.

Rubio also gave an update on subsidiary SN Aboitiz Power’s (SNAP) floating solar project in the Magat reservoir on the Isabela-Ifugao border.

“For SNAP-Magat’s 67MW floating solar project, we are currently securing the pertinent contracts and agreements. SNAP is currently working on the renewable energy service contract application with DOE,” he said.

SNAP, Rubio added, secured an extension of its memorandum of understanding with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) regarding its continued use of Magat. NIA administers the Magat Dam, while SNAP-Magat owns the 388MW hydroelectric power plant in the dam’s complex.

“The plan is to install up to 150MW of floating solar, depending on the final technical solution and layout. With the upgrading of the transmission line between Magat and Santiago, it is all systems go for the floating solar to undergo project development,” Rubio noted.

Rubio had said that AboitizPower would focus on developing more floating solar projects in Magat, as well as in the Ambuklao and Binga reservoirs in Benguet.

AboitizPower, the country’s largest power generator, announced back in August that it would invest Php190 billion to increase its renewable energy portfolio by 2030.