SUNASIA Energy Inc. is investing $120 million to put up a 60-megawatt (MW) solar power facility in Toledo, Cebu.
The Filipino renewable-energy (RE) provider targets to complete construction by mid-February next year.
Once finished, the Toledo solar project will be the biggest RE facility in the province of Cebu, said Tetchi Capellan, president of SunAsia and former undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture.
The company has tapped its global engineering partners from Germany in order to accommodate the existing stocking density to harmonize agribusiness with solar PV plant operations.
The solar facility will occupy approximately 70 hectares of land and locate about 200,000 hi-grade solar panels, all manufactured according to European standards.
Unlike other solar projects, SunAsia aligns itself with nature, seeking to preserve the existing landscape of the project area.
“Baltao Farms is home to a number of cattle, carabao, goats and chickens. As planned and designed, the present land use will be preserved for livestock production and only a fraction of the area in the farms will contain panels and infrastructure,” Capellan said.
She said the solar modules would be installed in 5,000 arrays spread in the 70-hectare property.
“Grass will be grown under and in between the solar arrays, thereby preserving the feedstock production for consumption by the animals,” Capellan said.
Based on the system impact study report prepared by Power Systems Research and Consultancy Group (PSRCG), the 60-MW solar plant is expected to generate some 861,199 MW annually.
Using the formula of the United Nations, with the 2011 baseline period when fossil-fuel share in the Philippine generation mix is at 30 percent, the reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions that the Toledo solar power plant can contribute will be about 38,936 tons yearly. Therefore, for 20 years, about 1.72 million metric tons of carbon emission will be reduced.
“This reduction in carbon emissions coming from solar energy power plants will help mitigate climate change. There are several fossil fuel-based power plants in the province of Cebu and the presence of Toledo Solar Project will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in the area,” Capellan added.