NextGen Day

The clearance of a 440 megawatt (MW) solar farm in Ilagan City, Isabela province, is being hailed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. as a positive development for the administration’s push for renewable energy and the creation of local jobs.

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According to a press release from the Presidential Communications Office on Sunday, Marcos was thrilled after project officials from the San Ignacio Energy Resources Development Corp. (SIERDC), the major implementer, briefed him on it in Malacaan Palace this week (PCO).

In December of last year, the Department of Energy gave the initiative to build a solar farm the go-ahead.

In order to invest in the creation of the Isabela solar project, SIERDC, and French-owned Total Eren inked a cooperative agreement in December of the previous year, with the latter offering both financial and technical expertise.

The Nextnorth Energy Group, which is building solar and hydro projects in Northern Luzon, includes SIERDC.

“The company will start building on a 400-hectare plot of land in Ilagan City, Isabela, which is currently used for the production of bioethanol and sugarcane. By 2025, the solar power facility will be operational, according to the PCO.

The solar energy project’s backers claim that it could produce over 700 gigawatt-hours annually, which is equivalent to the electricity needs of about one million households.

It said, “Around 2,200 workers throughout different phases of development and additional permanent workers when the facility becomes operational could benefit from the project.”

Total Eren owns more than 3,700 MW of operating or under construction wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity as well as more than 4,000 MW of projects in various stages of development.

In Tarlac, the company also operates a 60 MW peak solar PV project.

Another French company, TotalEnergies, is a shareholder in Total Eren, which has been doing business in the Philippines since 1998.

As one of the biggest energy corporations in the world, TotalEnergies is involved in the construction of solar power projects, the distribution of fuel and lubricants, and the transportation and storage of petroleum in the nation.

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