San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has targeted the construction of a 200 MW solar farm in Bulacan which will power its New Manila International Airport project. The proposed solar farm will be set up on the company’s 2,500-hectare lot in the municipality. The company has also reported that the airport will be built with a battery-powered energy storage system that will overcome fluctuations in power generations.
SMC had been awarded the contract to build and operate the Bulacan airport project in August 2019. The project is expected to cost about $15.32 billion dollars. In October 2020, SMC had raised $0.41 billion to finance the airport project and other investments including the metro line transit in Manila. The company has also invested in battery storage technology across the country to stabilize power grids. The company has backed renewable energy to have a huge role in building a sustainable economy after the global pandemic.
In November 2020, the Department of Energy in the Philippines reported a 16 per cent increase in the country’s renewable energy capacity from last year. As of September 2020, there are a total of 1,079 renewable energy projects in the country with a total installed capacity of 5.7 GW.