
Global technology leader, ABB, and solar energy provider, Solar Philippines, have collaborated on a 63.3 MW solar plant in a pioneering partnership project that will provide more than 400,000 people with sustainable energy.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have pledged to derive at least 23% of its total primary energy supply from renewables by 2025. In line with the goals set by the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC), building solar farms is a critical step to push ASEAN’s efforts to the next frontier as nations work to increase its solar PV capacity from 32 GW to 83 GW by 2025.
The Calatagan Solar Farm in Batangas is one of the largest solar farms in Luzon in the Philippines powered by ABB technology. Covering 93.32 hectares, the site has 200,928 panels and provides electricity to six municipalities in Western Batangas: Nasugbu, Tuy, Calaca, Lian, Balayan and Calatagan. Collectively, these municipalities currently have a total population of more than 413,000 people.
“Harnessing the power of the sun can only bring benefits for the Philippines, helping to increase energy efficiency and reduce potential impacts on the environment. We believe that the scope for solar power is greater than the aspirational target of 1,528 MW outlined in the Government’s National Renewable Energy Plan for 2030”, said Olivier Coquerel, Country Managing Director at ABB. “The sun is an obvious energy source, and it is also a relatively easy renewable energy to implement and integrate into the grid. The cost of solar continues to get more affordable, which is good news for the local community and increasing the use of renewables will create much needed jobs”.
The joint project between ABB and Solar Philippines Calatagan Solar Farm was made possible with the help of the Philippine government’s Feed-In Tariff (FIT) scheme. It is anticipated that the country has a potential solar-generating capacity of 4.5-5.5 kWh per square metre per day, making it ideal for solar power facilities, such as the Calatagan Solar Farm.
“The second round of the Philippines’ solar FIT scheme has an allocation of 500 MW and was a race to the finish”, shared Reynaldo Regenio, Global Global Sub-Product Group Manager, Packaging and Solutions, at ABB, about the construction of the facility. “ABB was able to deliver, hence, the 63.3-MW Calatagan Solar Farm met the target deadline, making it a candidate for the government’s FIT program”.
He added: “The Philippines has a Solar Feed-in Tariff program that allocates preferential rates for those first 500 MW solar sites that will be operational before a set deadline. ABB has helped Solar Philippines complete the facility before the deadline through its pre-fabricated modular solutions, which requires less site works and which redound to faster completion times”.
To ensure continuous power supply, ABB provided the core Electrical Balance of Plant (eBOP) equipment, from the solar panel to grid connection, for the solar farm. This combination of low- and medium-voltage technology includes 23 2,400kVA and 13.8 kV skid-mounted modules, along with two bays of 69 kV substation equipment, 30 MVA 69 kV/13.8 kV power transformers, one modularised e-House with 14 frames of UniGear ZS1 switchgear with Relion® protection relays and one set of protection and control panels.
The pre-engineered, predesigned integrated ‘plug and play’ solution provided to Solar Philppines, reduced on-site installation time through the use of standardised building blocks that are scalable and modular, thereby minimising site works and providing a clear return on investment.
ABB has the most comprehensive portfolio of products, systems, solutions and services in the renewable power value chain that enables the generation, transmission and distribution of solar and wind power together with energy storage systems from the smallest residential solutions to multi-megawatt systems. In partnership with Solar Philippines, the solar initiative will help country-wide efforts to shape a more sustainable future for the Philippines, particularly for local power and energy consumption.


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