Billionaire Enrique Razon plans to build a massive solar-and-battery facility in the Philippines that would provide enough clean power to avoid burning the equivalent of 1.4 million tons of coal a year.
It’s the latest proposal that combines cheap photovoltaic panels with energy storage to alleviate the key flaw of solar power — that it can provide too much electricity in the middle of the day and none at night. Similar massive facilities have been proposed in Indonesia and northern Australia.
Razon’s Prime Infrastructure Holdings, Inc. said in a statement Wednesday that the planned project will have 2,500 to 3,500 megawatts of solar panels and 4,000 to 4,500 megawatt-hours of battery storage. The solar portion will be built along with Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings. The statement didn’t give a proposed location or cost.
The facility will supply 850 megawatts — as much as some nuclear power plants — to Manila Electric Co., the Southeast Asian nation’s biggest power retailer which distributes electricity in the capital and nearby areas. The project will guarantee its power is fully available during hours of peak demand, according to Meralco’s final bid document. It’s expected to be available in two stages in 2026 and 2027.
The electricity generated will be enough to displace 1.4 million tons of coal or 930,000 liters of oil a year, Prime said. The Philippines gets about 57% of its electricity from coal, burning the equivalent of 29 million tons of high quality fuel, according to data from BloombergNEF and BP Plc.
Razon, the Philippines’ second-richest person, built his wealth mainly through his shipping company International Container Terminal Services Inc. He also has investments in mining, fossil fuels and infrastructure companies, including $300 million in oil and gas in the US through Appalachian oil fields and drilling activities in Houston.
He recently purchased Manila Water and is also eyeing to acquire a controlling stake in the Malampaya gas project in the Philippines’ western waters from businessman Dennis Uy, an ally of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte. Wednesday’s announcement comes weeks before Duterte relinquishes power to Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who campaigned on plans to tap more renewable energy sources to bring down power costs.
