Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently signed several letters of intent to help Singaporean companies to invest in the Philippines. These plans include efforts to install a 1.3 GW floating solar project on Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines.

The project will likely require an investment of around $1.2 billion, the government of the Philippines said last week, without providing additional details. According to Inquirer, a media outlet in the Philippines, the project will begin commercial operations in 2024. This week, local developers Blueleaf Energy and SunAsia said in a statement that they will develop the massive floating array in partnership with Green Investment Group, which is part of Australia's Macquarie Asset Management.

According to a recent study, the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) began considering floating PV on the lake in 2016, when the first expression-of-interest process was launched. The report said that four pilot projects, ranging in size from 10 kW to 22 kW, have already been built at the lake.

“Laguna de Bay is a multiple-use resource where capture fishery and aquaculture are the most dominant uses,” the report said. “Thus, one of the main considerations is the allocation of area for floating solar farm.”