RENEWABLE ENERGY developer Raslag Corp. is aiming to boost its overall energy capacity with the completion of its 36.65-megawatt (MW) solar farm in Pampanga by the second semester of the year, the company’s top official said.
“Our Raslag 4, we are just waiting for certain permits, so by the third or fourth quarter, it will be ready to operate,” Robert Gerard B. Nepomuceno, chief finance officer of Raslag, told BusinessWorld last week.
The listed company develops and operates renewables plants focusing on solar power.
Raslag 4, situated on a 251,750 square meter land in Barangay San Pablo (Talimundoc), Magalang, Pampanga, is expected to add 36 MW to the company’s portfolio.
To date, Raslag has a combined installed capacity of about 41.2 megawatt-peak (MWp) from its commercially operating plans.
The company’s board has previously approved obtaining a P1.2-billion loan from the Bank of the Philippine Islands to fund the construction and development of its Raslag 4 solar farm.
The company, Mr. Nepocumeno said, is still finalizing its capital expenditures for the year as majority of its target spending will be allocated for its planned Raslag 7 and Raslag 8.
In January, the company announced its intention to purchase land parcels in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija, for around P807.73 million. These sites will be used for its Raslag 7 and Raslag 8 projects, which it aims to connect to the 69-kilovolt transmission line of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
“We are buying a property in Nueva Ecija, we need a lot of funds for that but it is for Raslag 7 and 8, that will be our majority of our capital expenditure,” Mr. Nepomuceno said.
Overall, the renewable energy developer has a 103-MWp worth of proposed projects. — Ashley Erika O. Jose