YUCHENGCO-LED San Jose Green Energy Corp. has switched on a 19.6-megawatt-peak (MWp) solar power plant in Nueva Ecija, adding power to the Luzon grid.

The solar facility is expected to generate about 29 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year, the company said in a statement on Monday.

Mobilization of project contractors started in the fourth quarter of 2023 and plant construction was completed in November.

“The San Jose solar plant is the second utility-scale solar plant we put online to the grid this year following the successful export of power last Nov. 12, 2024 from our Dagohoy solar plant in Bohol,” Maria Victoria M. Olivar, PetroGreen Energy Corp. vice-president for commercial operations, said in the statement.

San Jose is one of four renewable energy special purpose vehicles under Rizal Green Energy Corp., a joint venture between Japan’s Taisei Corp. and PetroGreen, the renewable energy (RE) arm of PetroEnergy Resources Corp.

The solar project got its registration for the wholesale electricity spot market from the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines on Dec. 19 and provisional approval from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines on Dec. 20, according to Dave P. Gadiano, PetroGreen assistant vice-president for power markets.

“The facility was successfully energized as a load unit last Dec. 11, 2024 which led to the timely completion of the testing of the substation transformer and other electrical components prior to grid export,” he added.

The latest solar facility will be added to Rizal Green’s portfolio, which includes the 27-MWp Dagohoy solar project in Bohol, 25-MWp Bugallon solar project in Pangasinan and 40-MWp Limbauan solar project in Isabela.

The RE plant is also the fourth facility Petro-Green switched on this year after the partial commissioning of the 13.2-MW Nabas-2 wind power project in Aklan and 360-kilowatt-peak rooftop solar facility at Mapua Malayan Colleges of Mindanao in Davao, Ms. Olivar said.

“These new RE facilities not only enlarge and spread PetroGreen’s power operations across the country, but will significantly increase our future revenues,” she added. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera