RENEWABLE ENERGY developer Alternergy Holdings Corp. has started commercial operations of its P1.4-billion solar farm in Hermosa, Bataan, adding capacity to its solar portfolio.
In a statement on Tuesday, the company said its 28-megawatt (MW) Balsik Solar Power Plant has started supplying electricity to the grid and is expected to generate about 45,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually.
Commercial operations followed the completion of testing and commissioning, as well as the issuance of the final certificate of authority to connect by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).
Spanning 30 hectares, the solar facility uses 45,600 bifacial solar modules and is expected to help avoid about 31,000 metric tons of carbon emissions.
The plant supplies renewable energy to large industrial and commercial customers through a 300-meter, 69-kilovolt transmission line connected to the NGCP Hermosa Substation.
The project adds to Alternergy’s existing portfolio of 10 ground-mounted solar facilities, commercial rooftop systems, and solar projects with battery energy storage.
The company is also developing three more solar power projects that recently secured awards under the fourth round of the Green Energy Auction Program, with a total capacity of up to 240 MW.
Meanwhile, the Balsik Solar Power Plant is the first of four new power projects that the company targets to complete this year, alongside the 128-MW Tanay wind farm, 64-MW Alabat wind farm, and 4.6-MW Dupinga run-of-river hydro project.
“Alternergy’s core strength is in building power projects from pre-development all the way to commercial phase. This is most evident as we bring in four projects online and start a steady flow of revenues for the company starting this year,” Alternergy President Gerry P. Magbanua said.
Alternergy is a renewable energy company with projects spanning wind, run-of-river hydro, solar farms, commercial rooftops, battery storage, and offshore wind.
The company aims to build a 1,000-MW renewable energy portfolio by 2030. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera