March 16, 1521 — according to the Visayan singer Yoyoy Villame — was when “the Philippines was discovered by Magellan.”
Exactly 503 years later to the date, the Spaniards came back to Cebu and signed a landmark deal with the Provincial Government for the development, operation and maintenance of a 150-megawatt solar power plant to be built in a 187-hectare property in Daanbantayan.
Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia, representing the province, signed the agreement with the consortium Acciona Energia Global, represented by its business development director of Southeast Asia Ignacio Domecq; and Freya Renewables Inc., represented by its general manager Fermín Álvarez in a formal ceremony at the Capitol Social Hall.
The Capitol-led public-private partnership (PPP) is the first LGU-led PPP of its kind in the country in the field of solar power generation.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Special Assistant to the President Secretary Anton Lagdameo Jr., Ambassador of Spain to the Philippines Miguel Utray, third district Congress Pablo John Garcia, Cebu Vice Gov. Hilario Davide III, and Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura signed as witnesses to the agreement.
“Perhaps it was just right that your reintroduction to the Cebuano community would be to build the longest bridge in the Philippines today, the CCLEX, because bridges always connect,” Gov. Garcia told Acciona officials in her speech.
Acciona’s infrastructure arm was the one that built, along with its local partners, the 8.5-kilometer Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), Cebu’s iconic third bridge.
“From that initial connection, we now have this partnership — a partnership that can only bring more benefit to the Province of Cebu in terms of revenues, yes; but more importantly in terms of bringing down the price of electricity for many of our constituents,” the governor added, saying that renewable energy is cheaper than energy produced by coal.
ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE AND CLEAN ENERGY
The agreement is covered by a build-transfer-operate scheme.
The plant will be built by the consortium Acciona Energia and Freya Renewables in a property to be acquired by the Capitol in in Daanbantayan. Once the construction is completed, the Consortium shall have exclusive rights to operate and maintain the power plant for 25 years, which could be extended subject to the agreement of the parties.
The plant, the biggest of its kind in Cebu, will provide a steady stream of revenue as the Province of Cebu shall be able to collect payment for the lease of its property, percentage share of revenues from electricity sales, and brokerage fees.
Moreover, it will also drive economic activity in Daanbantayan as the residents will be prioritized in employment opportunities and the government is able to generate taxes.
“I can promise that the Province of Cebu is gonna be our most important hub for investment and for development in the country, and it’s also gonna be our most important hub for investment in whole Asia, and I can say that because I’m in-charge of the whole Asia,” Domecq said during his speech.
Aside from the benefits of the economic enterprise, the project is also seen as a most viable solution to an impending power shortage in Cebu within the next few years, as Cebu’s rapid development continues, along with its energy demands.
“Energy is important to all of us, and it is too important a matter to be left to the national government alone. Your initiative, under the leadership of Governor Garcia, represents a truly remarkable initiative in the sense that the Province of Cebu itself is taking leadership in terms of making possible a private investment in the Province of Cebu.”,” Sec. Lotilla said.
“Special Assistant to the President Anton Lagdameo and I are here to represent the President’s (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.) full support for what you are doing here in the Province of Cebu,” the secretary added.
For his part, Spanish Ambassador Utray highlighted that aside from providing safe, competitive, and reliable electric supply alternative, the solar power plant in Daanbatayan will also alleviate air pollution and greenhouse emissions.
“It is a shared vision of Spain and the Philippines that economic development needs to address social and environmental development in a balanced manner, paving the way for a brighter future for generations to come,” he said. | Babie Jane Revecoy