Basic Energy starts first 54-MW solar build
Basic Energy Corp. (BEC) has started building its first solar project, moving part of its 187.23-megawatt-peak (MWp) pipeline into construction as it expands its renewable energy portfolio.
The listed energy firm, led by businessman Ramon Villavicencio, said its wholly owned subsidiary Basic Energy Cadiz 1 Corp. has started building the 54.26-MWp Cadiz 1 Solar Power Plant in Barangay Luna, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental last week.
“What we have just witnessed is more than breaking ground. It is the start of the Cadiz 1 Solar Power Plant, a project we have worked hard to bring to this point,” BEC Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Oscar L. de Venecia Jr. said on Wednesday.
The utility-scale project, first of BEC’s four solar projects to reach the construction stage, will have an installed capacity of 54.26 MWp, or 43.41 MW on an alternating-current basis, and will supply renewable electricity to the Visayas grid.
Spanning more than 60 hectares, the plant will use about 84,784 solar photovoltaic modules and connect to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines through a substation about 5.4 kilometers from the site.
“This event represents the beginning of a project that we believe will contribute meaningfully to the Philippines' transition toward a cleaner, more sustainable, and more reliable energy future,” BEC1C President and BEC President and Chief Operating Officer Luisito V. Poblete said.
The Department of Energy issued the project a Certificate of Authority in March 2025 and later awarded its Solar Energy Operating Contract.
Cadiz 1 also secured a Certificate of Award under the fourth Green Energy Auction Program in January.
BEC said the project land has been secured and technical studies completed, while TBEA has been tapped as its engineering, procurement and construction contractor.
The Cadiz project is part of BEC’s 187.23-MWp solar portfolio across four projects. The company is also developing 449.99 MW of wind capacity as it builds a broader energy portfolio spanning solar, wind, geothermal, energy storage, and electric vehicle charging.
