The Board of Investments (BOI) said Monday it granted the green lane certificate for the floating solar power project of Fuego Renewable Energy Corp. (FREC) that will soon rise in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija.
Fuego Renewable is set to build the Pantabangan Floating Solar Power Plant, a 463.995-megawatt (MWac) floating solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Nueva Ecija. The project has an initial investment cost of P22.6 billion.
Spanning 500 hectares on Pantabangan Lake, the project is scheduled for commissioning in 2025, with its energy output destined for export to the National Grid.
The project site is located within the Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve (PCWR). The location of the transmission lines and other facilities onshore will fall under the protected area/watershed classification.
The project is expected generate up to 2,000 temporary and permanent direct job employment opportunities during construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance.
“With this green lane endorsement, let us cooperate to make sure that this project will be in operation by 2025” BOI Governor Marjorie Ramos-Samaniego said.
FREC president Aristotle Natividad lauded the green lane for expediting the process for the projects concerning renewable energy in the Philippines.
“This is our fourth green lane certificate in our portfolio, and we have experienced positive responsiveness of government agencies and institutions in our various permitting needs. With this latest green lane endorsement, we expect to achieve the same results and materialize our project at the soonest. We are very thankful to President Marcos and the BOI for creating policies that make our country an attractive and efficient market to do business,” Natividad said.
FREC is composed of Ignis Energy Philippines Inc. (IEP), ZA Global Partnerships Corp. (ZA Global) and Tierra Sol Local Landholdings Corp. IEP acts as the technical provider while ZA Global is a prominent Philippine-based renewable energy developer.
Tierra Sol engages in real estate activities and has made investments in four power generation companies in 2022.
Meanwhile, the BOI said it endorsed P1.196 trillion worth of projects for green lane processing in 2023 with 36 projects endorsed under Executive3 Order 18 or the law governing green lane for strategic investments.
Data from the BOI showed that most endorsed projects are in renewable energy (RE) sector totaling 28 projects with combined project cost of P861.71 billion.
Other projects involve four digital infrastructure projects worth P302 billion, two projects on manufacturing with combined cost of P29.61 billion and two food security projects with combined value of P3.4 billion.