Subic hosts largest solar power project in Southeast Asia

This premier free port is expecting to be in the forefront of sustainable development as it eyes the installation here of a $200-million combined solar and wind farm that would generate a total of 150 megawatts of renewable energy.

“This is another pioneering role on the part of the Subic Bay Freeport, which is the first military base to be successfully converted into a free port zone,” Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto Garcia said in a media briefing on Monday.

“​It will also​ be one of the first major clean energy projects in the country and the biggest solar installation in the whole Southeast Asia, and it is a big honor for Subic to be the project site,” Garcia noted​.

“This is very significant since the whole world is looking at renewable energy nowadays,” he added.

The $200-million alternative energy project will be undertaken by Emerging Power, Inc. (EPI), a renewable energy firm that has put up a 40-megawatt geothermal power plant in Mindoro last year.
EPI is controlled by Nickel Asia Corporation (NAC), one of the country’s biggest mining firms in the country.

The clean energy project will be located in an 800-hectare project site on Mount Santa Rita here, which is covered by the Pastolan Ayta tribe’s ancestral domain.

Garcia said the company hopes to have the Subic solar and wind power project on stream by next year.

He said the project is in line with RA 9513, or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, which aims to accelerate the exploration and development of renewable energy resources, increase utilization of such and promote their efficient and cost-effective commercial application. The law was also designed to effectively prevent or reduce harmful emissions to protect public health and the environment.

The development and promotion of renewable energy has been set as among the priority projects of the national government under the Investment Priorities Plan of 2012, Garcia added.

Garcia said the EPI project will be a pioneering venture for the establishment of renewable energy facilities in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

“This is a big stride towards sustainable development,” Garcia added. “It will help us keep Subic green and make the Freeport grow further.” (HEE/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Roberto V. Garcia (4th from left) and Emerging Power Inc. President Martin Antonio Zamora (3rd from left) lead the groundbreaking ceremony for the 150-megawatt solar and wind power project in the Subic Bay Freeport zone. (AED/MPD-SBMA)

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EPI to build multibillion wind, solar projects in Subic

EMERGING Power, Inc. (EPI), a renewable energy company, will be putting up multibillion-peso wind and solar power projects at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in line with its expansion from geothermal to solar and wind power.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has approved the entry of EPI into local company Jobin-SQM Inc. (JSI) via the acquisition of a 90 percent stake in the latter, SBMA acting deputy administrator Ronnie R. Yambao said.

The SBMA is the operating and implementing arm of the government for the development of a 670 square kilometer area of Subic Bay Freeport (SBF) into a self-sustaining tourism, industrial, commercial, financial, and investment center to generate employment opportunities.

In 2014, JSI president Nancy Tan signed a 50-year lease agreement with SBMA chairman Roberto Garcia for the development of a wind and solar project on an 800-hectare property on Mt. Sta. Rita, about 8 kilometers away from Olongapo City.

JSI has energy service contracts for 100 megawatts (MW) of solar power and 50 MW of wind power granted by the Department of Energy (DOE).

The Mt. Sta. Rita solar project, worth $200 million, is expected to be operational by June 2016 and is seen to reduce coal consumption by 44,300 tons per year.

A feasibility report by JSI released in March 2015 showed that the site is a suitable location for a solar energy facility that can produce up to 100 MW of power.

The report cited “convenient traffic, superior geographic position and rich solar energy resources” as factors proving the viability of the project.

It said the project meets the increasing demand for energy of the emerging Freeport Zone, while also speeding up the area’s economic and social development.

EPI chairman Antonio Martin Zamora said the project will pave the way for bringing clean and renewable power to SBMA.

“What better way to spark progress and growth to the people of Subic and investors in the country’s first freeport than by making clean and stable power available to them?” said Zamora.

Nickel Asia Corporation (NAC), one of the country’s biggest mining firms, holds a majority share in EPI.

NAC has said in a recent disclosure that it will guarantee the loan facility of EPI for up to P3 billion over a three-year period to finance EPI’s renewable energy projects.

NAC said it has earmarked $60 million for the purchase of JSI and Phase 1 of the project, which will initially be able to generate up to 25 MW of solar power.

EPI is also putting up a 40-MW geothermal power company in Oriental Mindoro, a 10-MW solar project in Camarines Sur, a 2.5-MW biogas project in Quezon; and a 10-MW solar and bunker hybrid project in Northern Palawan. (Ritchie A. Horario, Manila Times)

http://www.manilatimes.net/epi-to-build-multibillion-wind-solar-projects-in-subic/209576/

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Subic Ayta tribe okays $200-M renewable energy project

The Pastolan Ayta community has approved the establishment of a renewable energy project to be located inside an 800-hectare area of the Ayta ancestral domain in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

Ayta tribal chieftain Conrado Frenilla and Ayta elder Bonifacio Florentino signed a memorandum of agreement on Friday with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto Garcia and Jobin SQM Inc. President Nancy Tan for the implementation of the energy project on Mount Sta. Rita here.

Tan also presented the Ayta leaders with a P1-million check representing the company’s donation to the tribe.

The proceeding s was witnessed by representatives from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), which oversees the welfare of native communities.

According to Chairman Garcia, Jobin SQM Inc. intends to build a $200-million facility here that will produce power from clean energy sources. The facility will produce 150 megawatts of combined solar and wind energy.

Garcia said the project is in line with RA 9513, or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, which aims to accelerate the exploration and development of renewable energy resources, increase utilization of such and promote their efficient and cost-effective commercial application. The law was also designed to effectively prevent or reduce harmful emissions to protect public health and the environment.

The alternative energy project, Garcia further said, was formally committed during President Aquino’s state visit to China in September 2011.

The development and promotion of renewable energy has been set as among the priority projects of the national government under the Investment Priorities Plan of 2012.

To carry out the Subic project, Jobin has successfully satisfied the requirements set by the Department of Energy and has engaged the partnership of HydroChina International Engineering Co., LTD. (HIECL) for a joint venture.

HydroChina, which engages in renewable energy development projects worldwide, operates projects in the fields of hydropower and water conservancy, solar and electric power, as well as ports, highways and buildings.

Garcia said the Jobin project will be a pioneering venture for the establishment of renewable energy facilities in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. (HEE/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:
[1] SUBIC RENEWABLE ENERGY. SBMA Chairman Roberto V. Garcia (center) signs an agreement for the development of renewable energy projects in the Subic Bay Freeport with Jobin SQM President Nancy Tan (2nd from right), and Ayta tribal leaders Conrado Frenilla (2nd from left) and Bonifacio Florentino. The alternative energy project—a 150-megawatt solar and wind power facility—will be located at an area covered by the Ayta ancestral domain in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. (AED/MPD-SBMA)

[2] P1-MILLION DONATION. Jobin SQM President Nancy Tan presents a check worth P1 million to Ayta tribal chieftain Conrado Frenilla, as SBMA Chairman Roberto V. Garcia looks approvingly. Jobin SQM Inc. will develop a 150-megawatt solar and wind power facility that will be located at an area covered by the Ayta ancestral domain in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. (AED/MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA, Jobin sign deal for $200-M solar/wind power project in Subic Freeport

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has signed an agreement with Jobin-SQM, Inc., an all-Filipino corporation, for the establishment here of a $200-million renewable energy facility that will produce electricity from both solar and wind power.

SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia and Jobin-SQM, Inc. President Nancy Tan signed an agreement reserving an 800-hectare property on Mt. Sta. Rita where the firm eyes to produce 20-megawatts (MW) of solar energy and 50 megawatts of wind energy.

Garcia said the project was formally committed during President Aquino’s state visit to China in September 2011.

The proposal is in line with Republic Act No. 9513, otherwise known as the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, which aims to accelerate the exploration and development of renewable energy resources, increase utilization of such and promote their efficient and cost-effective commercial application, and effectively prevent or reduce harmful emissions protecting health and the environment.

The national government has declared the development and promotion of renewable energy as among its priority projects under the Investment Priorities Plan of 2012.

Garcia said Jobin has successfully satisfied the requirements set by the Department of Energy (DoE) in line with its intention to develop the solar and wind power project and has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the SBMA for the reservation of the project site prior to signing a lease agreement.

Thomas Garcia, Jobin-SQM Inc. stockholder, said the firm is keen on developing the Subic project, which is expected to turn on power by June 2016.

“Subic, we believe, is a progressive place and there’s a lot of potential. I like Subic,” Garcia added.

The renewable energy project has been in the pipeline since 2011 when Jobin entered into a joint venture agreement (JVA) with Hydrochina International Engineering Co., LTD. (HIECL) for the development of the said project.

Hydrochina Subic LTD Corp., which is the Filipino counterpart of HIECL, has been tapped to undertake the Subic project.

Meanwhile, HIECL will be in charge of the technical aspect of the project, including engineering, procurement and construction. (RFD/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:
SBMA Chairman Roberto V. Garcia shakes hand with Nancy G. Tan, president of Jobin SQM Inc., after signing a memorandum of agreement for the establishment of $200-million renewable energy project in the Subic Bay Freeport. With them are other SBMA officials and representatives of Jobin SQM Inc.

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