Leyte celebrates a brighter future with solar power project
Roberto D. Lopez, a Filipino businessman and owner of R.D. Lopez Solar Energy, signed an agreement with Nathan Yu, project manager of Dongfang Xuneng (Shandong) Technology Development.
After almost five years of study, an agreement was finally reached with a Chinese contractor to build a 70-megawatt solar power plant in Cabalawan, Tacloban City, Leyte, where Roberto owns a 24-hectare parcel of land.
Roberto said the total cost of the project is $67 million, and that he has a Korean business partner who will finance the project.
This project is expected to greatly benefit the people of Leyte, as it will provide additional solar power. With abundant sunlight and no need for gas, energy consumption costs are expected to decrease, allowing residents to pay lower electricity rates.
It is hoped that the project will be completed in a little over a year and that the generated power can be sold to electric cooperatives and, if necessary, to the national power grid.