Terasu Energy cleared to connect Tarlac solar plant to Luzon grid
THE ENERGY Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved renewable energy developer Terasu Energy, Inc.’s application to connect its 40-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Tarlac to the Luzon grid.
In a decision posted on the commission’s website, the ERC said Terasu Energy may develop and own dedicated transmission facilities which will link its power plant to the grid operator’s 69 kilovolt (kV) substation in Concepcion.
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has been designated to operate and maintain the transmission link.
Components of Terasu Energy’s approved transmission project include a 45 MVA (megavolt ampere) power transformer; a 69 kV transmission line; a 69 kV switch bay which will be built beside the NGCP substation; and protection, metering and telecommunication equipment. The company will be spending an estimated P43.57 million for these facilities.
Terasu Energy said its 40-MW Concepcion Solar Power Plant (CSPP) must be “directly connected” to the substation to fully dispatch its power.
The ERC said CSPP was identified by the Energy department as a committed power project at the end of December. Committed projects are those that have achieved financial closing with their investors or bankers.
“This committed capacity of Terasu’s CSPP will help address the power requirements of the Luzon grid, which… has an existing available capacity of 17,289 MW (as of 2019),” it said.
In its decision, the ERC also ordered the company to pay a permit fee of P326,768 as authorized by Commonwealth Act No. 146 and the commission’s revised schedule of fees and charges.
Terasu Energy is the special purpose vehicle of Sindicatum Renewable Energy Holdings Philippines, the Philippine unit of Singapore clean energy developer Sindicatum Renewable Energy Company Pte. Ltd. — Angelica Y. Yang
