Solar power projects worth a total of US$503 million will be constructed in Western Pangasinan. Recently, the provincial government of Pangasinan signed an agreement with CS First Green Agri-Industrial Development Inc., URIT Limited Philippines Corporation, and China Energy International Group.
The solar farms are located in the upland areas in the towns of Infanta and Dasol in western Pangasinan. Commenting on this, Governor Ramon Guico III,said, “There’s a looming energy crisis. In some parts of the province, there have been outages. And again, Pangasinan is going to play a key role in contributing to the power requirements of our country.”
He informed that ,with these projects, 321 megawatts of renewable energy capacity will be added to the requirements of the province in 2027.He further noted that it is part of their economic agenda under the Provincial Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office (PEDIPO).The solar farm in Dasol will cost $218 million with generating capacity of 140 MW, while the solar farm in Infanta will cost $285 million with the generating capacity of 181 MW of electricity.
“We welcome more investors. The reason that we first set up our PEDIPO Department headed by lawyer Raymundo Bautista is to encourage many more investors to put their money in the province,” he said.
Andy Wu of China Energy International informed that the project may be operational before 2026 or until 2027. “Pangasinan is a very suitable place to develop Solar Power Plants because of the sunshine. We hope this project can go into operation before the year 2026 and 2027,” he said.
Former Bayambang mayor Cezar Quiambao, who chairs CSFirst Green Agri-Industrial Development Inc., hoped that once the solar farms begin operating, lower power rates could be expected.
“Right now, we are paying P21 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). With these projects, it will only be P4.75 per kWh,” noted Quiambao. The construction of the projects would also employ thousands of Pangasinan residents, he pointed out.
“These plants will also contribute to our economic development of the province because if power is cheap, more industries will be putting up their factories here, and this will be a big help for Pangasinan,” Quiambao said.
