360 MegaWatts Floating Solar PV Power Plant

Nitto Green Technologies Development Inc. is lining up the proposed Pantabangan Floating Solar Plant project, a 360 MW floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) project designed to complement the existing 120 MW capacity Pantabangan Dam in the Philippines. It will be a hybrid hydropower–connected FPV project that will be developed through a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis. The estimated project cost is USD Four Hundred Million (US$ 400 million). Power generated from the project will be utilized to fulfill power demand of the National Capital Region. Metropolitan Manila often shortened as Metro Manila, officially the National Capital Region (NCR), is the seat of government and one of three defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines. It is composed of 16 cities: the city of Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela, as well as the municipality of Pateros. The region encompasses an area of 619.57 square kilometers (239.22 sq mi) and a population of 12,877,253 as of 2015. It is the second most populous and the most densely populated region of the Philippines. It is also the 9th most populous metropolitan area in Asia and the 5th most populous urban area in the world.
The dam sits at the head of an 853 km2 (329 sq. mi) catchment area known as the Pantabangan–Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve and its reservoir has a surface area of 69.62 km2 (27 sq. mi). Pantabangan Lake is considered one of the largest in South east Asia and one of the cleanest in the Philippines.
This will qualify under the 20-year feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme, where fixed electricity prices are available to renewable energy producers for each unit of energy produced and fed into the existing electricity grid.
This project will be done under Public–Private Partnership (PPP) initiative in line with the Build, Build, Build Program and the Philippine Energy Plan policy and agenda adopted by the government. The Development Bank of the Philippines will support the project thru its Financing Utilities for Sustainable Energy (FUSED) Program. FUSED provides financing support for the initiatives towards enhanced access to electricity services. By 2030, FUSED is expected to have funded at least Php40 billion of the estimated investment requirement for power generation and distribution under the Philippine Energy Plan. With the endorsement of the Department of Energy and other government agencies aligned to support this project, it will serve as a template for other Floating Solar Plants to follow.
“One of the aspects in the increase of our economic growth stems from the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program of the government. With the 9-point Agenda of the Duterte administration, it has been supportive of the renewable energy industry and eyeing to establish local solar power,” Nograles said."
In line with President Duterte’s Ambisyon Natin 2040 policy, the Government has set out its long-term energy objectives with the adoption of the Philippine Energy Plan for the years 2017 to 2040. The policy blueprint aims to ensure security of supply and increase access to energy through greater development of its indigenous resources. To reduce its heavy reliance on fossil fuel imports, the Government has set an ambitious target of increasing installed renewable energy capacity to at least 20 GW by 2040. To facilitate private sector investment, which will be key to meeting this and other renewable energy targets, the Government has undertaken measures to cut bureaucracy and expedite the implementation of energy projects of national significance. In June 2017, the President signed an executive order establishing the Energy Investment Coordinating Council to streamline the regulatory procedures affecting energy projects. High power prices, a relatively attractive feed-in tariff regime and a liberalized electricity market offer significant opportunities for renewable energy developers.
The development of this project and other large infrastructure schemes in the country are demonstration of how conducive the current environment is to investment. The strong opportunities for investment are further supported by the significant remaining gross theoretical hydropower potential of 47 459 GWh/year, and the technically feasible potential is 20 334 GWh/year. The economically feasible potential is 18 184 GWh/year. Only about 17 per cent of the technically feasible potential has been developed. Furthermore, about 275 MW of the existing hydro capacity is at units more than 40 years old.
This project will open up new opportunities for scaling up solar generating capacity, now that the country is faced with a high population density and competing uses for available land. The Philippines’ demand peaked at 11,000 megawatts, which signals the necessity to produce more energy for its developmental needs, the Department of Energy said in a statement. This large-scale floating solar platform, which features the deployment of advanced technological and system innovations, will also secure the global position of the Philippines in renewable energy production.
“An improving economy requires an increase in electricity demand, and that is what the government is doing, increasing the capacity,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi reiterated.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who represented President Rodrigo Duterte, said: “Electric power industry plays a very special role in the countryside.”

PROJECT COST : US$ FOUR HUNDRED MILLION ( US$ 400 M )

Project Significance/ Advantages
• This advantages of adding FPV capacity to existing hydropower plants in the case of a large hydropower asset like this allows flexible operation through the utilization of the existing transmission infrastructure and the opportunity to manage the solar variability through combined power output.
• This project has a government contract to take over the produced energy on guaranteed feed-in tariff after the commissioning for 20 years.
• The solar capacity can be used to boost the energy yield of this existing hydropower asset and may help to manage periods of low water availability by allowing the hydropower plant to operate in “peaking” rather than “baseload” mode. In addition, the benefits go both ways: hydropower can smooth variable solar output by operating in a “load-following” model.

• The output from the hydro facility can be reduced when the PV generation is high and the saved energy is used early morning and late-night hours. Although the daily generation pattern of the hydropower is changed, the daily reservoir water balance is maintained at the same level to meet the water requirements of other downstream reservoirs. All power generated by the hybrid system is fully absorbed by the grid without curtailment. This system shows that the hydro turbines can provide adequate response as demand and PV output varies.
• close proximity to demand centers (it is near the National Capital Region)

• Reduced evaporation from water reservoirs, as the solar panels provide shade and limit the evaporative effects of wind
• Improvements in water quality, through decreased algae growth
• Reduction or elimination of the shading of panels by their surroundings
• Elimination of the need for major site preparation, such as leveling or the laying of foundations, which must be done for land-based installations
• Easy installation and deployment in sites with low anchoring and mooring requirements, with a high degree of modularity, leading to faster installations.
• improved energy yield due to the cooling effects of water and the decreased presence of dust
The International Monetary Fund reported last year that the Philippines has been one of Asia’s strong performers in recent years: “Sound policies and a favorable global economic environment have delivered robust growth, low inflation, and a sustainable debt path”.
The World Bank announced last year “economic growth is set to remain strong in the Philippines despite global uncertainty”.
Today, there are more than 300 floating solar installations worldwide. A report by Wood Mackenzie, a global research firm, estimates that global demand for floating solar power is expected to grow by 22 percent year-over-year on average from 2019 through 2024. This will be a big step towards enduring energy sustainability in water treatment. Solar energy is plentiful, clean and green, and is key to reducing the country’s carbon footprint.