The Philippine Star
December 18, 2022 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy has given the go signal to a Filipino-French joint venture to develop one of the biggest renewable energy projects in the country – an P18-billion solar farm in Ilagan City, Isabela province.
The project will be undertaken by San Ignacio Energy Resources Development Corp., which is part of the Nextnorth Energy Group developing over 450 megawatts of solar and hydro projects in Northern Luzon, and French firm Total Eren S.A.
Total Eren is a renewable independent power producer with over 3.7 gigawatts of wind and solar projects under construction or in operation globally. It counts French multi-energy company Total Energies as one of its strategic shareholders, with extensive experience in the development, financing, construction and operation of renewable energy power plants globally.
In the Philippines, Total Eren has already invested in a 60-MWp solar project in Tarlac province.
The Isabela project, meanwhile, will involve the development of a 440 MWp/336 MWac solar PV project to be built on around 400 hectares of available land located along the Northern Luzon high voltage transmission network of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
The project is scheduled to start construction in 2024 and start feeding electricity into the grid in 2025.
With an expected electricity generation of around 700 gigawatt-hours per year, San Ignacio can supply one million Philippine households with clean, renewable energy.
“As we now more than ever, realize the importance of indigenous, stably priced, and low-carbon energy sources, we at San Ignacio are motivated by the scale of positive impact our project will bring once energized. We are likewise pleased to be working with Total Eren, an experienced renewable energy player active globally, and are grateful for their confidence to invest in our country’s renewable energy story, which will have immeasurable impact on the generations of Filipinos to come,” said San Ignacio president Miguel Mapa.
