Renewable energy developer Solar Philippines said it is in talks with US technology company Tesla Inc. for the supply of batteries for solar farms in the Philippines.
“Batteries will be the game-changer of 2017,” Solar Philippines president Leandro Leviste said in a statement. Batteries are crucial to enable the supply of reliable solar energy 24-hours a day.
Solar Philippines said it was negotiating with battery suppliers including Tesla”•the company founded by Elon Musk—for its solar farms.
Tesla is doubling the world’s battery manufacturing capacity to accelerate cost decreases and will soon complete the world’s largest solar-plus-storage project to supply evening power in Hawaii.
Solar Philippines offered one of the lowest solar power rates to Manila Electric Co. at P5.39 per kilowatt-hour.
“Even at today’s prices, solar-plus-storage is already cheaper than expensive diesel and natural gas. We aim to complete our first such project by mid-year, to show that the age of 24/7 solar is already here, and hopefully urge others to pause before investing in expensive fossil fuels,” Leviste said.
The company earlier said it would complete the first phase of the 150-megawatt Tarlac solar project this year, which would be among the first solar farms to be equipped with batteries.
Leviste said that while the economies of scale was contributing to battery cost reduction, major barriers for solar-plus-storage remained, including red tape.
The Confederation of Solar Developers of the Philippines, an industry group, said around 600 signatures were required for permits to develop a solar project.
The difficulty in permitting projects discouraged investments in renewable energy, and is the subject of ongoing discussions to streamline the process.
Leviste said another barrier was the price of solar panels, still the largest cost item.
This prompted Solar Philippines to open the first locally-owned solar panel factory, in line with its model to construct and develop solar farms in-house, to lower costs and bring greater competition into renewable energy.
“These are exciting times in the power industry. Vertical integration is enabling us to make solar-plus-storage cost-competitive years ahead of schedule, accelerate the advent of sustainable energy, and make the Philippines a leader in solar energy worldwide,” said Leviste.
Solar Philippines is the nation’s leading solar provider. With a team of veterans from the solar, construction, manufacturing and power industries, it completed the Calatagan solar farm and projects with SM and Robinsons Malls. It aims to make the Philippines a global leader in solar.