THE PHILIPPINE Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has partnered with Upgrade Energy Philippines, Inc. (UGEP) for solar energy projects within economic zones in Cavite and Baguio City.
In a statement on Thursday, PEZA said UGEP will develop and implement 10-megawatt (MW) solar projects at the Cavite Economic Zone (CEZ) and Baguio City Economic Zone (BCEZ) under the first phase of the three-year partnership signed on Sept. 22.
“Under the memorandum of understanding, UGEP will conduct feasibility studies in CEZ and BCEZ to determine the viability of the first phase projects prior to its implementation,” PEZA said.
The agreement also allows UGEP to generate and sell solar power to end consumers in the zones through the designated distribution utilities within the ecozones.
PEZA will assist UGEP in the studies, identification of land areas within the zones suitable for the project, and registration of the solar photovoltaics under the PEZA.
“Promoting the use renewable energy are extremely paramount in our country so we can save billions of pesos in energy and electricity consumptions, generate more jobs and at the same time, reduce our country’s share of carbon emissions, therefore, fighting the adverse effects of the global climate change,” PEZA Officer-in-Charge and Deputy Director General for Policy and Planning Tereso O. Panga said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Panga also pushed for more water-based ecozones in the country to boost sustainable development as he produced a foresight paper titled New Frontiers in Ecozone Development: Aqua-Marine and Renewable Energy Parks.
He said more water-based ecozones will help enable PEZA achieve “blue economy and complement the country’s quest for economic, inclusive and sustainable development.”
“This innovative and transformative ecozone model, which is a major departure from the conventional land-based ecozones for the past 50 years, aims to put the Philippines among the pioneering economies in the region that will venture into aquamarine parks integrated with mariculture or marine farming, ocean energy/RE generation, hydrogen/oxygen production and marine eco-system regeneration,” he added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave