MARIVELES, Bataan – Renewable energy developer New Generation Power Technology Corp. (NGPTC) has received the nod of regulators and the endorsement of authorities to build a 37-hectare solar power plant here at the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB).

Officials of NGPTC, which is a subsidiary of renewable energy company Citicore Power, Inc. (CPI), recently received a Certificate of Compliance (CoC) from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the firm’s 18-megawatt solar plant project.

A CoC is proof that the power project is fully compliant with all the permits and requirements necessary for the safe switch-on and operations of the plant.

Manolo T. Candelaria, CPI executive vice president for Commercial and Development Operations, said that under the Revised ERC CoC Rules of 2014, nobody may engage in generation of electricity unless a CoC has been secured from the ERC.

“These CoC enables our solar plant in Bataan to generate electricity that will serve the people. This is in line with one of our goals to become an overall compliant company which cares for the environment,” said Candelaria.

The 37-hectare solar power project is expected to power over 22,000 homes in Luzon with the use of over 68,500 photovoltaic modules.

According to CPI, the solar power plant will help prevent the discharge into the atmosphere of some 13,000 metric tons of carbon per year. This is equivalent to planting 600,000 trees, it added.

Meanwhile, the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) said its approval of the solar power project reaffirms its commitment to innovation and sustainable development in the Bataan free port.

AFAB Chairman and Administrator Emmanuel D. Pineda expressed the authority’s strong support to the renewable energy project, saying it approved the NGPTC proposal in 2014 knowing that it “will definitely support FAB’s vision to become the freeport of choice by 2020.”

He added that the solar power plant is in line with the AFAB’s thrust to obtain FAB’s main agenda of “SOFT HEART”, which means Socially relevant, Operationally viable, Financially feasible, Technologically advanced, Housing, Expansion areas, Accessibility, Renewable energy and Transportation.

“Today, we at the AFAB are glad to know that the 18-megawatt solar plant will soon be able to help the freeport and the country to address power and environmental concerns,” Pineda added.

“We congratulate NGPTC and CPI and once again thank them for choosing the FAB,” he also said.