Prime’s solar unit starts this month

Prime’s solar unit starts this month | Daily Tribune

The newly inaugurated 64-megawatt (MW) solar power plant of Prime Solar Solutions Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. (Prime Infra), is expected to start providing clean energy to Filipino households this month.

In an interview on Friday, Prime Infra president and CEO Guillaume Lucci said that the project will start augmenting the solar power capacity of the national grid by 12 June.

“The completion of this plant is a special milestone for us. This plant, combined with the other plant in Maragondon will be the first set of solar power plants that will be operated by Prime Infra and its subsidiary, Prime Solar. It’s certainly part of a wider portfolio strategy that we have, along with our other renewable projects,” Lucci said.

“These projects truly play a key role in achieving our primary commitment which is to build better lives and resilient economies through critical infrastructure — the kind of infrastructure that is socially relevant,” he added.

According to Lucci, the power plant is the first in the country to utilize digital twin technology, drone verification of progress, optimized string sizing, and 24/7 quality assurance/quality control monitoring both at the factory and at the site.

128 MW of green power

Prime Solar’s two power plants — one in Tanauan, Batangas, and another in Maragondon, Cavite — will supply up to 128 MW of clean, renewable energy from its solar power plants, powering about 84,000 households and displacing over 100,000 tons of coal per year.

Prime Solar has a 50-MW, 20-year power supply agreement with Meralco, and will supply the rest of its output to the grid.

“We are thankful for our off-taker Meralco. We have a long-term contract to fulfill, and we look forward to doing just that and hopefully connecting this plant, as quickly as possible, to distribute energy and release pressure on the grid,” Lucci said.

The Tanauan Solar Power Plant which broke ground in April 2023, employs the most advanced execution technology.

For Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara, Prime Solar’s new plant will support the government’s transition to a clean energy future to achieve a national renewable energy program target of 35 percent in the generation mix by 2030, and 50 percent in 2040.