MRC Allied Inc. will construct a 550-kilowatt-peak grid-tied solar rooftop project for two rice mills in Northern Luzon.
“We are breaking ground in an area which would encourage agriculture production as a result of lower energy prices available to user,” MRC president Augusto Cosio Jr. said.
MRC earlier signed a memorandum of agreement with Edward Marcs Philippines Inc. for the design, supply, delivery, construction, installation, testing and commissioning of the solar rooftop project of the two rice milling plants which they did not identify.
EMPI is expected to complete the design, supply, construction, installation, testing and commissioning of the agreed target capacity of solar rooftop system for the said project within 180 days.
“What we are setting up is a long term growth of cash flows in order to generate better shareholder value…When rice millers proportionally lower milling cost, they could lower the price of agricultural products,” Cosio said.
MRC will be the project developer and owner of the solar facility while the private entity which operats the two milling plants will be the power off-taker.
The P34-million solar rooftop project is expected to be completed by May 2019.
Cosio said MRC aimed to gain a foothold in the growing Philippine solar PV rooftop market by putting up 4 MW of solar rooftop capacity in two years.
MRC said it planned to develop at least 1,000 MW of power generation capacity by 2022.
MRC also signed a memorandum of agreement to put up a 1.1-MW solar rooftop in a mall in Mindanao.