Solar Philippines looking to hold IPO to fund 500-MW solar farm

SOLAR PHILIPPINES plans to hold an initial public offering (IPO) to raise a minimum of P1.3 billion, which will partly fund the construction of its unit’s 500-megawatt (MW) solar farm in Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija.

“We aim to raise at least P1.3 billion to fund the equity for the construction of the project’s first 225 MW, with the possibility of raising more to advance the expansion of the project,” Solar Philippines Founder Leandro L. Leviste told BusinessWorld through the firm’s corporate communications division in an e-mail on Tuesday.

The planned facility will be a project of Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp., which is wholly owned by Solar Philippines.

Once completed, the solar farm will become Southeast Asia’s largest solar project to date, the company said.

“We’ve decided to make Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija our group’s first venture into the public markets because this is the asset that we are proudest to showcase: a site where will rise the largest solar project in the Philippines, with potential for further expansion given its proximity to Manila,” said Mr. Leviste separately said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday.

The IPO will allow the public to invest in renewable energy efforts, and expand such initiatives in the Philippines, he said, adding that they will disclose the timing of the offer once it is firmed up.

Solar Philippines seeks to list the offer under the stock exchange’s supplemental listing and disclosure requirements for renewable energy companies.

The guidelines give development-stage project firms a chance to list on the local bourse as long as they fulfill certain requirements, such as securing a valid and subsisting service contract from the Energy department.

Solar Philippines said its Nueva Ecija unit aims to begin construction work for its 500-MW project by end-2021. The facility will help augment the Luzon grid’s reserve capacity and avoid rotating outages in the area.

Once operational, the Peñaranda solar farm will account for half of Solar Philippines’ first 1 gigawatt target.

Last month, Solar Philippines announced the creation of a new business called “Solar Energy Zones, Inc.” which aims to develop areas conducive to hosting solar facilities for power firms.

The company has said it was in the middle of finalizing deals to develop 10,000 hectares of solar energy zones, which will be mainly situated near its existing power projects in Nueva Ecija, Batangas and Tarlac. — Angelica Y. Yang with inputs from Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte