Both companies are excited about the potential the partnership offers and believe it will have a significant impact on the online gaming industry.
Emerging Power Inc. (EPI) CEO Ronaldo Ibasco said that “by 2025, we’re looking at 650 MW of projects that are energized or in construction leading toward 1 GW (gigawatt) a year [later].”
To construct 1 GW of renewable projects in the Philippines by 2028, Shell Overseas Investments B.V. and NAC's renewable energy division EPI partnered last July.
To develop, own, operate, and maintain onshore renewable energy projects jointly, the firms established Greenlight Renewables Holdings Inc. (GRHI).
The first project for GRHI is a 240 MW solar farm in the province of Leyte. The first phase of the project's commercial operations could begin in the first quarter of 2025, and it is expected to be finished by the fourth quarter of 2024.
“For that specific project, we’ve done significant de-risking. We’ve managed to convert the land into industrial,” Ibasco said.
The connection of the renewable plant to the transmission line was approved by National Grid Corp. of the Philippines thanks to GRHI. Ibasco continued by saying that the right-of-way was another area of focus.
EPI did not provide information on capital expenditures for this year, simply stating that each megawatt of electricity produced typically costs about $750,000, or roughly P42 million.
“So [solar] PV (photovoltaic) farm alone is ranging between $590,000 to $620,000 per MW, and then if you add [the] balance of [the] plan including transmission lines, it goes up to $700,000 to $750,000 per MW,” Ibasco explained.
NAC acquired extra common shares in EPI for P2.92 billion as it grew its market share in the renewable energy sector. As a result, NAC would own 95.8% of the stock in EPI.