Macquarie-led Blueleaf Energy Philippines has selected two Chinese energy companies as potential Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractors for its floating solar projects in Laguna.
Pradeep Gopalakrishnan, Blueleaf senior project manager, said that these companies are Xian Electric Engineering Co., Ltd. and China Energy Engineering Corporation (Energy China).
Gopalakrishnan added that Blueleaf is considering both alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) installations for its 250-megawatt (MW) NKS Solar One Project.
"One is Xian Electric; they have 13 years of presence in the Philippines. The other one is Energy China. They are the ones who did the project in Singapore," Gopalakrishnan told reporters.
Blueleaf has been discussing with Xian Electric for AC installations and Energy China for DC installations.
"You have been to Singapore, and they have done the same floating solar project on the drinking water reservoir. So we are using the same technology here," he added.
While Blueleaf sees Xian Electric and Energy China as potential partners, Gopalakrishnan said the company is open to other collaborations.
"We are in talks with others, but we are almost finalizing these two here," he said.
The NKS Solar One project is a joint venture with technology firm NKS Energy Utilities and is expected to be the first utility-scale floating solar project in the Philippines.
With an estimated budget of P15 billion, NKS Solar One will be developed on Caliraya and Lumot lakes in Laguna.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year, with operations targeted to start by the second quarter of 2026.