Blueleaf Energy investing $1.5B to develop 1.5GW floating solar farm in Laguna

By TED CORDERO, GMA Integrated News | Published June 20, 2024

Renewables firm Blueleaf Energy Philippines, a portfolio company of Macquarie Capital, is investing over a billion dollars to develop floating solar power farms in Laguna.

“We're looking at an overall investment for these projects of around $1.5 billion,” Blueleaf Energy president Chris Chua said at a media briefing in Pasig City on Thursday.

Blueleaf is developing 1.5 gigawatts (GW) or 1,500 megawatts (MW) of floating solar capacity on Laguna province’s bodies of water with its joint venture partners NKS Energy Utilities and SunAsia Energy.

In particular, Blueleaf and NKS are developing NKS Solar One, a 250-MW floating solar project to be situated in lakes Caliraya and Lumot in Laguna.

The project is expected to be the first utility-scale floating solar project in the country.

Construction for the NKS Solar One is targeted to begin by the fourth quarter of 2024 and is expected to be online by the first quarter of 2026.

Blueleaf is also co-developing a 1.3-GW floating solar facility in Laguna Lake with SunAsia Energy.

The project will span the towns of Cabuyao, Sta. Rosa, Calamba, Victoria, and Bay.

“Like in any other power project, we're looking into project financing. So, it's going to have to be like long-term loans from banks and then the equity part of it…it's something that basically, we, as the investor, will be covering,” Chua said.

He said the company is envisioning to “accelerate the energy transition in the Philippines through innovative renewable energy solutions for a net-zero future”.

Unlike ground mounted solar, floating solar technologies require less land preparation, and increases photovoltaic (PV) efficiency due to the cooling effect of water.

Rafael Macabiog, Blueleaf head of projects, said that “with the adoption of floating solar, more land can be allocated for other productive uses.”—AOL, GMA Integrated News