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Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen) is expanding its solar power portfolio beyond Luzon and is also exploring a potential entry into waste-to-energy (WTE) development.
MGen President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Rubio said in an interview last week that its partnership with Saudi Arabian firm ACWA Power may begin with the development of a solar facility in Iloilo, following the initial agreement formalized in June.
“We are looking at land in Concepcion, Iloilo. That’s our first project with them. They’re also eyeing land on their own,” Rubio told reporters.
He disclosed that MGen and ACWA have signed a contract covering about 120 to 125 hectares of land for the Visayas project, which could advance within the next six to eight months.
MGen signed the deal with ACWA Power to explore and develop renewable energy (RE), leveraging the Saudi Arabian firm’s energy expertise.
“The value that ACWA will bring is their experience and their relationship with established EPCs (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction contractors). Hopefully, they can make this project very competitive,” Rubio added.
ACWA Power has 7.8 gigawatts (GW) worth of capacity in its current portfolio, which includes 101 projects across operating assets, ongoing construction, and advanced development stages. MGen has around 4,953 megawatts (MW) of diversified assets.
Beyond solar and its conventional plant investments, MGen is also considering WTE developments with ACWA Power. Rubio disclosed that the company is open to participating in the sixth Green Energy Auction (GEA-6) of the Department of Energy (DOE).
The newly announced bidding is set to commence next year, anticipating about 170 MW of WTE capacity. The DOE previously cited Metro Manila in Luzon as one of the locations for this technology. It also noted two available WTE lots in Visayas and another two in Mindanao.
