Sumitomo wins Philippine bid for large-scale PV/hydro plant

A contract on the Philippine island of Mindanao to build a 1 MW solar component for the world’s first large-scale hybrid PV/hydro plant has been awarded to Sumitomo Corp.

Sumitomo will supply about 6,000 solar modules from Sharp for the 1 MW system on Mindanao. The Japanese trading company Sumitomo cooperates with Sharp and handles some of Sharp’s solar module export business.

The Philippine utility Cagayan Electric Power & Light Co. (CEPALCO) is putting up $3 million for the project, which is being promoted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) with a $4 million grant from the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) (see PI 7/2000, p. 24). Cecilio Sumaoy of CEPALCO says the utility is currently negotiating contract terms with Sumitomo. The Japan-based firm beat out seven other bidders, including Spain’s Isofoton, Germany’s RWE, Shell Renewables, BP Solar, the Philippine offices of Siemens, and the Philippine company MATEC. The solar component is designed to provide peak power needs in the afternoon, thus allowing a local dam with insufficient water flow to store capacity for evening use. wph
 

William P. Hirshman
© PHOTON International, January 2002