Filinvest affiliate seeks key solar investments

FDC Utilities Inc. (FDCUI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC), is making its way toward becoming a key player in the energy sector by expanding its generation capacities in the next decade. 

The company said on Friday that it plans to triple its current generating capacity from 411 megawatts (MW) to 1,350 MW by 2023.

Bulk or around 71 percent of this increase is anticipated to come from renewable energy.

“We are committed to doing our part in ensuring that our country has a stable supply of energy for both the short and long term,” FDCUI president and CEO Juan Eugenio Roxas said. 

“While thermal power remains a large and vital component of our country’s energy mix for the medium term, we also hold that renewable energy is the way forward, and we are aligning with the DOE’s plan to build more renewable energy projects,” he added.

Large-scale solar farm

FDCUI is currently constructing its first massive solar energy project within the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate in Misamis Oriental, with an estimated investment of more than P500 million.

The 20-MW Misamis Solar Power Project has the potential to inject 30,450 megawatt-hours of clean energy annually into the grid.

Filinvest’s subsidiary, Cotabato Sugar Central Co. Inc., has completed and commenced commercial operations of its 3.4MW biomass power project in Barangay Kilada, Matalam, North Cotabato.

FDCUI is also working on a 135MW baseload capacity expansion project in Misamis Oriental, which was approved by the Department of Energy in 2019.

Additionally, the company has several other projects in the pipeline, including a combined 15MW commercial and industrial solar projects in 5Cebu and Laguna and the 11MW Cotabato Solar Power Project, which are targeted for completion in 2025 and 2026, respectively.