Solar installations to power San Miguel’s Bulacan airport

LISTED conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) plans to install solar technologies to power its international airport project in Bulacan, its top official said.

Solar rooftop panels will be installed in all terminals, from passengers to cargoes, of the P735-billion project to be built in a 2,400-hectare area in Bulakan town.

“Lahat ng bubungan ng passenger terminals, lahat ng cargo terminals, lahat ng klaseng terminals—puro solar lahat ‘yun, (All the roofs of passenger terminals, all cargo terminals, all kinds of terminals—there will be solar installations)” SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang told reporters in a recent virtual briefing.

“That will be one of the biggest in the Philippines,” he claimed. The official did not further disclose the target capacity of the power installation.

SMC through San Miguel Aerocity, Inc., will build and operate the airport project, part of an ambitious P1.3-trillion “aerotropolis” or airport city project. The construction will include four to six parallel runways, eight taxiways, and three passenger terminal buildings.

The Senate on Oct. 12 passed a measure granting the company a 50-year franchise for the airport development. Within the period, the firm is exempted from paying income and real estate taxes until it can fully recover its investment costs. The measure was also passed by the House of Representatives on Sept. 7.

SMC targets the project’s completion in the next five to six years.

Meanwhile, the conglomerate’s power arm SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. will continue preparing renewable energy projects, including hydropower plants with a target capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW).

Yet, this is still depending on consumer demand, Mr. Ang said. Power demand has dwindled as much as 40% at the height of the strict community quarantine in the second quarter of the year, the Department of Energy said.

The energy company is also pursuing liquefied natural gas (LNG) power projects, eyeing an initial capacity of 850 MW over the next two years.

On Oct. 22, it issued $400 million worth of senior capital securities, which were listed at the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd. Its proceeds will be used to fund investments in LNG projects. — Adam J. Ang