• Solar Philippines has proposed to develop 5 GW of solar power capacity and replace all planned coal power capacity
  • It says this would bring down consumer rates by up to 30% or 100 billion Philippine Peso ($1.97 billion) annually
  • The company has proposed the plan to electric utilities and has listed the locations of the solar farms, cost of batteries and panels that it has started producing at its facility
  • Referring to China and India’s plans to cut down on coal power plants, Solar Philippines wants the country to focus on solar power as well

A solar rooftop power plant developer in the Philippines has proposed to replace all planned coal plants with solar & battery storage farms in the country. Solar Philippines has submitted the plan to the country’s electric utility players, as per local media reports. This would amount to a solar power capacity of 5,000 MW which, it says, would bring down consumers rates by up to 30% or 100 billion Philippine Peso ($1.97 billion) annually.

“With our 5,000 MW solar plan, and our first 24/7 solar-battery projects to be completed this year, we see no scenario where most planned coal projects will push through,” said Leandro Leviste, president of Solar Philippines.

The plan includes locations of the solar farms, integration of batteries for grid reliability, and the cost of batteries and panels that the company has started producing at its factory in Batangas.

The Philippines is working to implement Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA), which means consumers would have the choice to select their power suppliers. This is what Solar Philippines is backing its plan on, stated daily Philstar.com.

The company cited examples of China and India in a statement issued to the local press. The two Asian nations have canceled 120 GW and 20 GW coal power plant capacity, respectively – and aggressively pursue their solar power targets.

“Lower cost power is badly needed in the Philippines, which has one of the world’s highest electricity rates; yet the Philippines is one of the only countries where plans for new coal plants are still pushing through for now, because of the perception solar is expensive,” said Leviste.

Recently, a local real estate developer announced a plan to develop 500 MW solar power capacity by 2022 (see MRC Plans 1 GW RE In Philippines).