DOE drafting circular for Pax Silica power requirement

MANILA – The energy requirements of the planned Pax Silica project in New Clark City, Tarlac are being reviewed by authorities, given the large capacity required to run the technology hub.

Several renewable energy (RE) projects are scheduled for construction in this part of Central Luzon, with Energy Secretary Sharon Garin noting that they are currently drafting a circular on the construction of power projects in the area.

“There are several options,” she said, noting that whether the need ranges from 50 megawatts to 5,000 MW, “we can supply that.”

“But we just need to make sure that anything we do — power, data center, or hub — will not put the rest of the country at a disadvantage,” she said.

The planned US-led technology hub aims to provide for the needs of the global artificial intelligence (AI) value chain.

DOE Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevarra, during the same briefing, said initially, the agency needs to know who among the interested power firms can put up embedded generation “because it’s the easiest part.”

“You will not need to transmit it from a faraway place,” she said.

The next move is to know the timeline for the additional capacities annually to allow authorities to know the required transmission, distribution, and generation during the period, she said.

“At the end of the day, the bottom line is that we need to be able to secure the commitment of these locators in Pax Silica because any generator to put up a plant will need 20 years to recover the cost of their investment,” she added.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., in his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, said the Pax Silica project “will bring quality jobs to our people, accelerate our industrial competitiveness, and revitalize our economy.”

“As a strategic component of the Luzon Economic Corridor, the hub will be an advanced manufacturing and logistics center in the global AI and technology value chain,” he said. (PNA)

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