Calatrava facility starts operations

AboitizPower’s fifth solar facility is also it’s also the largest — packing 173-MW of clear energy — in the company’s growing solar generation portfolio

The 173-megawatt (MW) Calatrava project in Negros Occidental, the largest solar facility in Aboitiz Power Corp.’s (AboitizPower) renewable energy portfolio, is now operational, boosting the national grid’s power supply.

“Calatrava is our fifth energized solar facility and the largest capacity thus far in AboitizPower’s growing solar generation portfolio. It adds more clean energy to the power mix, as well as valuable green jobs to the community,” Jimmy Villaroman, president of Aboitiz Renewables Inc., the RE arm of AboitizPower, said on Thursday.

“This project would not be possible without the help of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines. They have helped us energize the facility to deliver power through the Calatrava substation,” he added.

Expanded renewable energy footprint

The Calatrava Solar Project is part of AboitizPower’s broader push to expand its renewable energy footprint.

To date, the company has energized 512 MW of energy projects, including the 159-MW Laoag Solar and 94-MW Cayanga-Bugallon Solar plants in Pangasinan, the 17-MW Tiwi Binary Geothermal Power Plant in Albay, and SN Aboitiz Power’s 24-MW Magat battery energy storage system in Isabela. It also recently switched on the 45-MW Armenia Solar Project in Tarlac.

AboitizPower has over 1,000 MW of disclosed renewable energy projects in its pipeline, encompassing solar, hydro, geothermal, wind, and energy storage systems.

The company aims to build 3,600 MW of new renewable energy capacity and target a balanced generation portfolio of 9,200 MW by 2030, with at least 50 percent coming from renewable sources.