The joint venture of AC Energy Corporation (ACEN) of the Ayala group and Citicore Power Inc., which is affiliated with the Megawide group, will be funneling P2.7 billion worth of investment for a solar farm facility that shall be developed at a site in Arayat-Mexico towns in Pampanga.

According to the project sponsor-firms, the solar farm installation will reach commercial commissioning by the first quarter of 2022.

During the groundbreaking rites on Thursday (June 24) which officially signaled the project’s advancement to construction phase, the developer-firms noted that “the solar farm will soon be a critical addition to the grid,” and it would offer “a new source of power to secure the country’s growing energy need, especially during these challenging times.”

Eric T. Francia, president and CEO of AC Energy, stated that one anchor of their company’s success “is our ability to work with different partners and we are delighted to jointly develop this solar project with Citicore.”

Through that solar venture, he emphasized that the two companies “will help augment the much-needed grid capacity during the very tight electricity supply situation as our economy recovers from the effects of the pandemic.”

Citicore President Oliver Tan, in turn, indicated that they consider this venture as an opportunity “to play a significant role in this sustainable infrastructure project – especially with respect to boosting local employment, supporting regional economies and creating a more stable and reliable power supply.”

He added that in this investment, “we are committed to providing our expertise through innovative renewable energy solutions to help accelerate the shift to RE in consumer’s power needs.”

The Philippines is considerably facing supply shortages’ predicament that would be more manifest during peak-demand months of summer; and solar developments are seen as fitting solution because their generation also hits optimum capacity in these periods.

As cast on blueprint, the greenfield solar farm would be able to yield electricity output that could energize approximately 45,000 homes in Luzon.

Additionally, the project’s construction will provide up to 1,500 job opportunities, which will be highly significant as the country bounces back from the economic distress of the pandemic.

And in the short- to long-tem facet of the facility’s operations, it could also create value-added opportunities for its host-communities in Pampanga – not only in terms of economic and livelihood potentials, but also in taxes that will be flowing into government coffers.