Filipino renewables developer Solar Philippines this morning announced it will finance the first 225 MW of generation capacity at a planned more-than-500 MW project on the island of Luzon by floating the project company which is preparing the plant.

Filipino renewables developer Solar Philippines this morning announced it will finance the first 225 MW of generation capacity at a planned more-than-500 MW project on the island of Luzon by floating the project company which is preparing the plant.

The parent company will take advantage of a ruling laid down by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in 2011 that permits renewable energy projects to be the subject of an initial public offering (IPO) at the development stage, provided they meet criteria such as holding a service contract from the Department of Energy.

The developer did not reveal how much it hopes to raise from the planned IPO, stating only that the proceeds would fund the initial, 225 MW phase of a project its backer has predicted will be the biggest in South East Asia.

That first stage, said Solar Philippines, would already constitute the nation’s largest solar field, with plans to extend capacity to 500 MW through “further financing,” in future, and to eventually expand the project even more, “beyond this capacity.”

The developer said it hopes to begin construction at the former ranch site in Peñaranda, in the province of Nueva Ecija, this year, with the project “operational,” with an unspecified generation capacity, next year.

Solar Philippines added, the Nueva Ecija facility is one of five large solar plants it hopes to install next year, alongside a 63 MW project in Batangas being developed with utility the Korea Electric Power Company; a 200 MW field at Tarlac taking shape with the Prime Infra business of port handling magnate Enrique K Razon Jr; and two further arrays, with a combined generation capacity of 140 MW, planned in Batangas and Cavite.