Aboitiz Power Corporation, via its subsidiary Aboitiz Renewables Inc. (ARI), is lining up the construction of two solar power projects that will add up 383.7-megawatt aggregate capacity to its renewable energy (RE) portfolio.

The projects taking off from the company’s drawing board will be the 172.7MWp Calatrava solar farm development in Negros Occidental and the 211MWp solar farm installation in Olongapo, Zambales.

Aboitiz Power President and CEO Emmanuel V. Rubio announced that they are now “looking to begin the construction of our Calatrava solar and Olongapo solar projects this year.”

The greenfield solar developments will be part of the additional 3,700MW RE capacity ramp up that the company is targeting to concretize by the turn of the decade.

The Calatrava solar farm, in particular, is anticipated to be reaching commercial stream  by December 2024 and the wheeling of the plant’s capacity to the grid will be channeled through the Calatrava substation.

“Construction will commence in September within an approximate land area of 143 hectares,” the company noted, adding that the contract for the engineering, procurement and construction had been awarded to Chinese firm SUMEC Complete Equipment and Engineering Co. Ltd.

For the planned solar project in Zambales, the construction is similarly slated September this year and the commercial operation date (COD) had been cast for September 2025.

The export of capacity from that solar plant will be done through the Castillejos substation in Zambales, according to the company.

In advancing these projects to commercial fruition, Aboitiz Renewables President and CEO James Villaroman indicated that “cost competitive renewable energy is very important,” as he similarly emphasized that harnessing RE-based indigenous resources thrives as added facet to the energy security goals of the country.

At completion, the solar investment platform of the Aboitiz group will already cover five projects including its San Carlos Sun Power venture in Negros Occidental; then its Laoag and Cayanga solar installations in Pangasinan.