By Maria Romero | The Daily Tribune
The 50-megawatts (MW) solar power plant of PowerSource First Bulacan Solar Inc. (PFBSI), a unit of dominant power distributor Meralco, has started commercial operations for the provision of clean and renewable power to the Luzon grid.
Output of the plant can supply electricity to about 32,500 homes which have an average electricity use.
Dubbed as BulacanSol, the newly completed plant secured from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on 12 May a clearance to operate.
“This is a modest step into renewables but a significant one for Meralco. We look forward to many more investments in renewables, particularly solar, as we attempt to achieve that balance in fuel sourcing, which will ultimately be biased towards renewables,” Meralco chair Manuel V. Pangilinan said.
PFBSI chairperson Rogelio Singson said BulacanSol signifies the commitment of One Meralco and PowerSource Group to help ensure energy security through clean, cost-competitive and sustainable power.
Green projects continue
“We pledge to continue building more environmentally conscious projects as part of our commitment to a sustainable energy transition for the future generations,” Singson, who is also the president and CEO of MGen, said.
“As the first operational project of MGreen, BulacanSol is a very important milestone that drives us to aggressively pursue more projects that will help us achieve our target of building a renewable energy portfolio with a capacity of up to 1,500MW in the next five to seven years,” he added.
“In June 2019, Meralco made the first announcement that it would join the shift to renewable energy and it will adopt sustainable practices for the One MERALCO Group. And today, we realize the very first renewable power plant — the first of several that One Meralco has lined up for investment and sourcing,” Meralco president and CEO Ray Espinosa stated.
Key undertaking
Located in San Miguel, Bulacan, the P4.25-billion project is a joint undertaking of MGen Renewable Energy Inc. (MGreen), which owns 60 percent of the project; and PowerSource Energy Holdings Corporation, with 40 percent.
MGreen is the renewable energy unit of MERALCO PowerGen Corp. (MGen), which in turn is the power generation arm of MERALCO.
Construction activities for the plant started in December 2019 following the issuance of notice-to-proceed to SUMEC Complete Equipment & Engineering Co. Ltd., the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project.
BulacanSol in February reached 1.5 million safe man-hours without a lost-time incident, reflecting the company’s commitment to safety and security in all its activities.
https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2021/05/14/bulacansol-kicks-off-green-meralco/