Bacolod City – Cadiz City in Negros Occidental is set to host the very first floating solar project facility in the Visayas and Mindanao, set to be sprawling on a 90-hectare fishpond in Barangay Tinampaan, Cadiz City, with a targeted capacity of 100 megawatts (MW).
Project proponent, Zonal Renewables Corporation (ZRC), recently inked a deal with A.M. Hijos, Inc. (AMHI) of the Montelibano family in Negros, which owns the property.
AMHI President Ramon Montelibano along with Leandro “Andy” Montelibano said the project will be their family’s greatest contribution to the government’s quest for decarbonization.
Both stressed that such a floating solar project has the ability to sequester 1,250 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, equivalent to 357,500 trees planted every year, they pointed out.
“Hence, this will be our legacy project and noteworthy contribution to the national government’s push towards a carbon neutral Philippines,” they said.
ZRC President Jabez Alvarez said the pact signing “comes at a perfect time,” when the outlook for new RE generation projects in Negros Occidental is quite encouraging, noting that the additional transmission capabilities of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), including the soon to be completed Cebu-Negros-Panay Grid Interconnection (CNPGI) project.
Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante said that the floating solar project will further cement Cadiz’s present tag as a “RE Capital” of Negros Occidental.
At present, Cadiz is host to a 132-MW solar farm also located in Barangay Tinampaan. Commissioned in 2015, Home Vena Energy’s Helios Solar Power Plant (HSPP) occupies a land area of 176 hectares.
Escalante added that the ZRC’s entry to Cadiz thru AMHI is a clear manifestation that “we are demonstrating a capacity to provide an ease-in-doing business across all sectors.”
The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Cadiz recently passed a resolution endorsing the floating solar project. (News & photo courtesy of CCPIO via The Visayan Daily Star)