EcoSolar secures ECC for Capiz solar project

The Visayas grid is expected to gain additional renewable energy capacity by 2028 after EcoSolar Energy Corp. secured the environmental clearance for its 98.20-megawatt direct current Panitan Solar Power Project in Capiz.

In a statement Tuesday, June 2, ESEC said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau Region 6 issued the Environmental Compliance Certificate for the project in Panitan town.

The ECC allows the company to move the project further through development after completing environmental and pre-development requirements.

ESEC said the certification means the proposed facility was assessed as compliant with environmental standards and may proceed to remaining pre-development work, construction, and related grid upgrades.

The project will also require the upgrading of the 138-kilovolt Panitan substation by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

Commercial operations are targeted on or before the end of 2028.

The Panitan Solar Power Project is among the winning projects under the Department of Energy’s Green Energy Auction Program 4, which the DOE said awarded renewable energy commitments under its fourth auction round.

Once completed, the project is expected to become PetroGreen Energy Corp.’s largest solar power development to date and Capiz’s first utility-scale solar power facility.

“We are pleased to receive the ECC for our Panitan Solar Power Project after an extensive process that began in November 2025. Capiz government leaders, Panitan municipal officials, and local stakeholders endorsed the project citing its significance and potential impacts as the province’s first utility-scale solar power facility,” said Yrel V. Ventura, PGEC assistant vice president for environment and community relations.

“As important, this investment by the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC) will add much needed power to the Visayas grid which has been plagued by constant red and yellow alerts recently,” he added.

The Visayas grid was placed on yellow alert on June 1 because of forced outages of major coal plants and high system demand, according to advisories reported by GMA News, while NGCP said a yellow alert means the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.

The grid also faced red and yellow alerts in May, with Reuters reporting that the Philippines warned of power interruptions as heat and power plant outages strained the Luzon and Visayas grids.

The company said the project is expected to provide socioeconomic benefits to Capiz through job creation during construction, local procurement opportunities, and community development initiatives in host communities.

“Another key feature of the proposed PSPP is the integration of an agrivoltaics component, which supports both food and energy security by combining solar power generation with agricultural production,” the company said.

The agrivoltaics component is intended to support crop production, nursery operations, and other farm-based enterprises in the host barangays of Timpas and Capagao.

The project has received support from provincial and local officials.

During a public consultation in Panitan in March 2025, the Capiz provincial government said the proposed solar facility was among the priority investments being advanced by Gov. Fredenil H. Castro to bring renewable energy projects into the province.

ESEC is a subsidiary of PGEC.

PGEC is a joint venture of Yuchengco-led PetroEnergy Resources Corp. and Japan’s Kyuden International Corp.

The company also said ESEC is a joint venture between Yuchengco-led PGEC and Japan-based Kyuden International Corp.

ESEC earlier secured a similar ECC for its battery energy storage system, which is scheduled to switch on in the fourth quarter of this year.