Aboitiz Renewables breaks ground on largest Visayas solar plant

BACOLOD CITY – Aboitiz Renewables Inc., the renewable energy arm of Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower), broke ground for its 239-megawatt peak (MWp) Luna Solar Power Plant and a 65-megawatt (MW) battery energy storage system in Barangay Luna, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental on Friday morning, July 24.

The Luna solar plant, which is expected to be operational by 2028, will be their largest solar plant in the Visayas and their first integrated solar and battery energy storage facility on Negros Island, Aboitiz Renewables president Jimmy A. Villaroman, said.

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“Our solar journey began here in Negros Occidental with SacaSun, our very first solar plant in San Carlos City. And today, as we break ground on Project Luna—which will surpass even Calatrava once in operation,” he said.

Aboitiz Renewables’ two other solar plants in Negros Occidental are the 173-MWp Calatrava Solar Power Plant in Calatrava, the company’s largest solar power plant to date, and the 59-MWp SacaSun facility in San Carlos City.

“Returning to this island is a deliberate choice, as Negros Occidental has proven itself an ideal hub for renewable energy—not only because of its natural potential, but because of the proactive local policies that allow clean energy projects to move forward with confidence,” Villaroman said.

“Today is a big event for our city, and it is both a pleasure and a privilege to host such an investment from our good partners, Aboitiz Renewables,” Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. said.

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“This is probably the single biggest investment in the province of Negros Occidental,” he said.

“It only shows our capability to host, manage, and accept such big projects, and it signifies the intention of our city to expand beyond agriculture,” Escalante said.

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For the project, Aboitiz Renewables purchased 200 hectares of land from Manuel Lamata, a leader of sugarcane planters in the region.

The groundbreaking was attended by Negros Occidental 2nd District Rep. Alfredo Marañon III, Cadiz City Vice Mayor John Vincent Escalante, Aboitiz Renewables Chief Growth Officer David Aboitiz, Chief Operating Officer Alexander Coo, and Vice President for Engineering and Execution Cris Alidon; and GEDI Construction Development Corporation’s Han Xu.

Alidon said the Luna solar project will cover 180 hectares and provide jobs to about 1,000 people, more than 50 percent of whom will come from Cadiz.

They expect to start construction in the last quarter of this year and complete it in 2028.

The Luna project builds on Negros Island’s significant potential for solar development, as the region is among the areas in the country rich in solar irradiance, an Aboitiz statement said.

Alidon said they are also looking at an area in Cadiz City for another solar plant, but it is not final.

Aboitiz’s land acquisition in Barangay Mabini is ongoing for another solar plant, Escalante said. /jpv