San Miguel Is Going Sustainable, Reveals Plans to Build a Giant Solar Farm to Power Bulacan Airport
San Miguel Corporation, the company signed on to build the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan, will also be building a solar farm to power the mega airport.
In an effort to go sustainable by adopting clean energy, SMC will construct a 200-milliwatt solar farm on a 2,500-hectare property, and the energy created at this farm will be used to power SMC’s P740 billion airport in Bulacan.
Not only will it be powered by solar energy, but the airport will also have a backup battery energy storage facility at the solar farm. This will serve as a “reserve” during emergency situations, and will store power when power generation is high and consumption is low.
“This battery storage will be a viable solution to balancing electricity loads and storing unstable energy supply coming from the sun and other renewable sources of energy, which we are looking to utilize for the airport,” said Ramon S. Ang, president and COO of SMC.
The solar farm project will be handled by SMC’s subsidiary San Miguel Global Power.
"Our approach has always been to use cutting-edge technology to shift sustainability to better fuels while balancing the needs of our country, economy, and people for affordable, reliable traditional fuel-based power. We continue to invest in technologies so that our power facilities would have as little impact as possible on the environment," he added.
The Bulacan airport aims to decongest the flights and passengers in Metro Manila International Airport. It’s expected to have a capacity of 100 million passengers per year with the potential to expand to 200 million.
The airport will consist of a passenger terminal, four runways, and an airport toll road that will be connected to the NLEX.
SMC’s shift to solar energy is a huge step in encouraging other companies to also go “clean” in light of the greater awareness of climate change.
