The National Power Corp. (NPC) together with the European Union (EU) and the World Bank (WB), turned over four completed rural network solar power plants for four electric cooperatives (ECs) in Samar, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat in a ceremony held in General Santos City yesterday.
NPC said it installed the four 1 megawatt greenfield solar photovoltaic power plants and linked them with the ECs distribution networks with a total cost of 4.6 million Euros equivalent to P280 million.
NPC added the project is part of the EU’s 66-million euros (P3.8 billion) grant to the Philippines through the Access to Sustainable Energy Program which is a joint undertaking of the EU and the Department of Energy, administered by the WB.
The two plants connected to the distribution networks of South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative and Sultan Kudarat Electric Cooperative were switched on at the ceremony yesterday while the remaining two connected networks of Samar I and II Electric Cooperatives will be switched on by the end of September.
Ndiame Diop, WB country director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, said in a statement the project is part of the organization’s commitment to promote sustainable energy solutions for inclusive growth in the Philippines, adding that the projects are expected to set as a practical example and benchmark for scaling up renewable energy supplies among ECs.
The EU said its investments in solar energy will help make energy consumption in the target locations more environmentally sustainable while also contributing to diversifying energy supply and help in mitigating the effects of climate change.
Fernando Martin Roxas, NPC president and chief executive officer, said the turnover of solar power plants also supports the government’s endeavors in full electrification and renewable energy scale-up.
