Araneta to build Southeast Asia's biggest solar farm

Gregorio Araneta Inc. on Monday said it intends to build what is possibly the biggest solar farm in Southeast Asia, as the real estate firm diversifies further into the renewable energy sector.

 

The company plans to build a 100-megawatt facility in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, at an estimated cost of $175 million. The solar farm is expected to start feeding the national grid with renewable energy by 2016.

 

Araneta unveiled the planned project only months after the company's 30-megawatt facility in Ormoc, Leyte started supplying power to the national grid in March.

 

The government-approved Ormoc project, which cost $50 million, was built through a partnership between Araneta and Singapore-based Soleq. 

 

Because of its upbeat perception of the renewable energy sector, Araneta said it aims to replicate its success in real estate in the power industry.

 

“We want to be agents of change in the energy sector by investing in renewable energy projects,” said Gregorio Araneta III, chief executive officer of the company. – Keith Richard Mariano/VS, GMA News