MRC Allied, Inc. targets to add 42 megawatts (MW) from solar power plants to its portfolio in 2019, as it boosts its solar energy generation capacity.
MRC President and Chief Executive Officer Augusto M. Cosio, Jr. said on Monday the expansion will include the establishment of a 12-MW solar plant in central Luzon.
“That’s mostly in rice-producing areas. Because we see an opportunity in helping agribusiness, and making food prices more stable especially since last year the theme was really inflation,” Mr. Cosio told reporters in Makati City.
The remaining 30MW will be from the proposed acquisition of a solar power plant in Leyte. Mr. Cosio said the company is already a minority owner of the facility, but is negotiating to hike its stake.
The capacity expansion is part of the MRC’s plan to add 100MW in its portfolio in the next two years. The company is set to invest $1 million per megawatt for this program.
Meanwhile, the company disclosed on Monday that it has signed a memorandum of agreement with Edward Marcs Philippines, Inc. (EMPI) for the design, supply, delivery, construction, installation, testing and commissioning of its 550 kilowatt-peak (kWp) grid-tied solar PV rooftop project for two rice milling plants in Northern Luzon.
The listed firm earlier said that it will invest P34 million for the project.
Aside from energy projects, Mr. Cosio said he is also looking at tapping the company’s property assets.
“One of the visions that we have is making self-sustaining communities, smart communities. There are properties that we can develop together… There are so many possibilities in the ESG (environmental, social, and governance) space that can be explored by small players like us,” Mr. Cosio said.
Mr. Cosio noted the company has “a few hundred hectares” of land in Cebu and Leyte, which they could use for solar projects.
MRC booked a net loss of P26.11 million in the first nine months of 2018, due to the lack of revenue-generating businesses during the period. It also incurred expenses to support the requirements of Menlo Capital Corp.
The company is currently raising P1 billion through private placement, where it is selling about 1.43 billion common shares from its unissued and unsubscribed authorized capital stock. This will be used to fund the firm’s energy projects in the future.
Shares in MRC dropped by 3.61% or 1.5 centavos to close at 40 centavos each at the stock exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia
