ABOITIZ Power Corporation (AboitizPower) subsidiary San Carlos Sun Power, Inc. inaugurated its first solar power plant in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental on April 19, 2016.The 59MWp San Carlos Sun (SacaSun) project delivers 82 GWh a year of clean and renewable energy to the Visayas grid.“AboitizPower is one of the country’s largest producers of renewable energy and our Cleanergy portfolio generates 1,263 MW, or close to 40% of our total net sellable capacity. This represents our commitment to support the government’s push for a balance of renewable and non-renewable power sources to address the country’s increasing energy demand,” AboitizPower CEO Erramon I. Aboitiz said.The project started delivering energy to the Visayas grid on March 9, 2016, before the March 15 deadline imposed by the Department of Energy (DOE) for solar power projects under the Feed-In-Tariff (FIT).SacaSun’s clean and renewable power output is expected to qualify for FIT incentives and get priority dispatch in the electricity spot market under the FIT rate for solar power at PHP 8.69/kWh.The SacaSun project sits on a 75-hectare property inside the San Carlos Ecozone in barangay Punao, San Carlos City on the eastern side of Negros Island.The project, whose construction started in August 2015, employed more than four thousand workers throughout the construction phase. Approximately 80% of the hired workers came from the host community of San Carlos City and about a third or 1,500 of whom were women. The women assembled parts of the solar panels, while the men and technicians carry the assembled parts for installation in the solar farm.AboitizPower is one of the Philippines’ leading developers and operators of renewable energy power plants, mostly from its vast portfolio of hydro and geothermal power plants, and now, solar.

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