Lopez-led First Gen Corporation is eyeing to construct wind and solar farms, along with a battery energy storage system (BESS), within its hydroelectric power plant complex in Nueva Ecija.
In a report by Inquirer, First Gen Vice President Ricky Carandang said that the construction of these facilities would help scale up First Gen’s renewable energy portfolio to at least nine gigawatts (GW) by 2030.
However, the energy firm had not given out additional information such as timeline, cost, specific location, and capacity of the prospective projects.
Nevertheless, FirstGen has already filed the necessary applications to secure the contracts for constructing wind projects with the Department of Energy (DOE).
Studies to confirm the feasibility of ground-mounted and floating solar farms as well as BESS projects are also ongoing.
Carandang also clarified that these projects won’t have any disadvantageous impact on the environment, rather they would supplement the operations of First Gen’s hydro plants in the area. For example, floating solar could maintain the water resources in the dam using decelerating the evaporation process.
Previously, First Gen Senior Vice President Dennis Gonzales said that the company had been looking into possible sites for RE projects near its 132 megawatts (MW) Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric power plant and its 165 MW Casecnan hydroelectric power plant.
Moreover, the corporation also looked into erecting a Php 6 billion pumped-storage hydroelectric project in Aya Dam, which was also within the bounds of the Pantabangan-Casecnan complex.
Once the regulatory approvals have been obtained, the construction, which would offer 100 to 120 MW once fully operational, would take about 36 months to complete.
