Philippines breaks ground on 64 MW solar project

The Ajuy-1 Solar Power Project is the first major ground-mounted solar facility located in the province of Iloilo. It is being developed by renewable power firm Jin Navitas Solaris as part of the Department of Energy’s second green energy auction.

Construction of a 64 MW solar project is underway in the Philippines.

The Ajuy-1 solar power project, located in the municipality of Ajuy within the central province of Iloilo, will cover a 47.86 hectare area and be the province’s first major ground-mounted solar facility.

The PHP 2.37 billion ($41.5 million) project is being developed by renewable power firm Jin Navitas Solaris and will be connected to the Panay Island grid via the existing Sara–Panit 69 kV transmission line.

Energy Secretary of the Philippines, Sharon Garin, said during a groundbreaking ceremony that the work “marks a significant step in reducing our carbon footprint but also empowers local communities by providing them with reliable and renewable energy resources.”

The project was approved as part of the Department of Energy (DOE) of the Philippines' Green Energy Auction Program 2 (GEA-2) and benefits from an energy tariff of PHP 4.35/kWh.

The GEA-2 auction allocated 1.97 GW of PV capacity in July 2023, with the selected developers securing 20-year power purchase agreements.

In February, DOE announced that its GEA-3 auction round, which focused on technologies not eligible for feed-in tariffs, was heavily oversubscribed. It has since announced the timeline for GEA-4, which offers more than 10 GW of solar and wind capacity for projects expected to begin commercial operations between 2026 and 2029.

Earlier this month, it was reported over half of the first phase of the 3.5 GW solar and 4.5 GWh battery storage MTerra Solar project in the Philippines is now complete. The 778 MW of solar installed so far makes it the largest solar installation in the country to date.