MGEN Renewable Energy, Inc. (MGreen), the renewable energy arm of Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), has switched on its 52.8-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Cordon, Isabela.
The solar project is the second under the second round of the government’s Green Energy Auction Program to be completed ahead of schedule, the company said in a media release on Wednesday.
Completed four months early, the solar farm is expected to supply clean and reliable electricity to over 53,000 households, supporting the Philippines’ goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in the power mix to 35% by 2030.
The project is expected to prevent over 50,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, equivalent to removing more than 11,700 gasoline-powered cars from the road, according to the company.
“We want to show that economic progress and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand,” said MGreen President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis B. Jordan.
This is MGen’s seventh solar power plant in the Philippines, following MGreen BulacanSol, Nueva Solar, MGreen Baras Solar, MGreen Bongabon Solar, MGreen SP Calatagan, and MGreen SP Tarlac.
MGen expects to end this year with at least 82 MW of additional capacity from three solar plants.
The company has a pipeline of projects expected to exceed its 1,500-MW renewable energy target before 2030.
MGen is the power generation arm of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
