Yuchengco Unit Gets DOE Clearance, LGU Support for Capiz Solar Project
May 13, 2025
May 13, 2025, Manila/Capiz - The Department of Energy (DOE) awarded on May 7, 2025 the Certificate of Authority (COA) for the Panitan solar power project (PSPP) to EcoSolar Energy Corporation (ESEC), a new special purpose company of Yuchengco-led PetroGreen Energy Corporation (PGEC).
“DOE’s COA grants ESEC the exclusive authority for the planned ~90-100 MWDC PSPP, a ground-mounted solar project we will develop in ~88 hectares of land we own in the municipality of Panit-an, Capiz. When completed, it will yet be PGEC’s single biggest contiguous solar power facility. The COA allows us a year to secure the necessary development permits, conduct feasibility studies, and mature the project towards final investment decision and the application of a solar energy operating contract, “declared Hiroki Hiwatashi, PGEC’s PSPP Project Manager.
In an earlier public hearing attended by municipal and barangay residents and representatives from the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and some civil society organizations, Capiz Governor Frenedil Castro and Vice Governor James Magbanua urged Panit-an residents and concerned government agencies to strongly support the project, noting it will be the first large-scale renewable power plant to be built in Capiz, bringing with it new power supply, jobs for local residents, and tax revenues to local government units of the province.
Following the public consultation, the project received the formal endorsement of the Panitan local government through a resolution of support issued by the Panitan Sanggunian Bayan (Legislative Council) on May 2, 2025. Panitan Mayor Katherine Dequiña-Belo said, “We are proud to support ESEC’s solar project, which will not only provide clean energy and additional power but also bring economic opportunities to our community. This endorsement is just the beginning of long-term collaboration and we assure our investors that we will steadfastly support and protect this project to ensure we all benefit from its success.”