Meralco Power Corp., the generation unit of Manila Electric Co., plans to put up 100 megawatts of rooftop solar power capacity in the next three years, a top executive said.
Meralco president Oscar Reyes told reporters its subsidiary would focus on the solar rooftop projects, which were now in the development stage.
“It will be focused on solar and wind but focus will be initially on solar within our franchise area without prejudice to going to other areas,” he said.
Reyes said that going full blast on renewable energy would “make economic sense” for the company.
Meralco earlier said it was open to partnering with local and international players for renewable energy projects.
“Given the global developments on RE and especially solar, Meralco is itself interested in exploring partnerships with local and global players. We think that the RE space will grow, and we want to be part of that growth,” Meralco senior vice president for customer retail services and corporate communications Al Panlilio said earlier.
Panlilio said Meralco wanted to go into solar but the company was focused on ensuring safe and reliable operation of the distribution grid.
“We need to understand that the solar installation in a house or business can affect the stability and safety of the distribution grid and may place other nearby customers at risk. We also recognize that solar photovoltaic installations that are synchronized with the grid are dependent upon the quality of power delivered by the distribution utility,” he said.
Panlilio said the company’s efforts to support solar energy was driven by Meralco chairman Manuel Pangilinan’s vision to embrace change and innovation.
“He believes that Meralco should stay ahead of the curve on solar and renewable energy and on point with customers abreast with technology,” he said.
Pangilinan earlier announced the company’s plans to venture into renewable energy, noting that “the infrastructure cost of renewables, particularly solar and wind, have been decreasing.”
“We are mindful of technological developments capable of disrupting Meralco’s business model. In that light we are looking to participate in the renewable energy space, particularly solar and wind,” Pangilinan said.
“We are looking at solar. Particularly, not just utility grade solar but we will start probably with rooftops so for that business, we need to have a separate subsidiary and separate management,” he said.
Meralco PowerGen is presently developing three coal-fired power plants, including the 1,200- megawatt Atimonan coal plant in Quezon, 455-MW Mauban coal project also in Quezon and RP Energy’s 300-MW to 600-MW coal plant in Subic.
Meralco PowerGen also owns a 22-percent stake in Global Business Power Corp. that is also building a coal plant in the Visayas.