Philippines completes first MW-scale floating solar array
The Philippines has completed its first megawatt-scale floating solar array, a 4.99 MW installation on the Malubog reservoir, with plans to expand to 50 MW to power a copper mine. In Mindanao, work has begun on a 99 MW solar plant backed by PHP 4.49 billion ($80 million) in green financing from HSBC.
The Philippines has completed its first megawatt-scale floating solar array, a 4.99 MW installation on the Malubog reservoir, with plans to expand to 50 MW to power a copper mine. In Mindanao, work has begun on a 99 MW solar plant backed by PHP 4.49 billion ($80 million) in green financing from HSBC.
The Philippines has completed installation of a 4.99 MW floating solar array.
Billed as the country’s first megawatt-scale floating solar facility, the project features 8,540 solar panels across 3 hectares on the Malubog reservoir, at a copper mine in the island province of Cebu.
US-based project developer Black & Veatch served as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project, which mine owner Carmen Copper Corp. commissioned.
The solar installation currently produces enough energy to meet 10% of the mine’s power needs. Plans call for scaling the project to 50 MW, which would enable it to fully power Carmen Copper’s operations.
Jerin Raj, Asia Pacific managing director for Black & Veatch, said the project was completed on time and on budget within 15 months.
Elsewhere in the Philippines, developers began construction of a 99 MW Tantangan solar project this week. German solar company ib vogt is building the array in South Cotabato, a province in the Mindanao region in the south of the Philippines.
The project has PHP 4.49 billion in green financing from British bank HSBC. ib vogt said the project is also the first to benefit from a joint development and construction facility established by British International Investment and Pentagreen Capital.
The plant is scheduled for completion in 2026 and will generate electricity for more than 82,000 households.
It is ib vogt’s second solar project in Mindanao. The company has more than 1 GW of infrastructure projects in active development across the country.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reported that the Philippines’ cumulative solar capacity exceeded 2.9 GW at the end of 2024.
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