South cotabato: More than 82,000 households in Mindanao are expected to benefit from the Tantangan Solar Project in South Cotabato, the Department of Energy (DOE) said Thursday. The solar project, which broke ground on Wednesday, is anticipated to provide cleaner and reliable power to communities around the municipality.
According to Philippines News Agency, the solar power initiative, with a total capacity of 99 megawatt peak (MWp), is a collaboration between Apolaki Seven, Inc., and ib vogt GmbH. It is projected to generate over 150,000 megawatt hour (MWh) of renewable energy annually. The Department of Energy highlighted that since the power plant operates on clean energy, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are expected to be reduced by approximately 66,000 tons each year.
Energy Undersecretary Mylene Capongcol emphasized during the groundbreaking ceremony, “Today, we do more than break ground on a state-of-the-art solar facility – we celebrate a vital step toward our national energy aspirations under the National Renewable Energy Program. This project contributes meaningfully to our goal of increasing the renewable energy share in our power mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.”
Phase 1 of the project, which involves around 40 MW alternating current (MWAC), was awarded under the Green Energy Auction Program 2 (GEA-2) and is scheduled for completion by December 31, 2026. The initial phase is expected to be a significant step towards realizing the project’s full potential and delivering its promised benefits to the people of Mindanao.
