Projects granted green-lane certificates valued at P1.2T

THE Board of Investments (BoI) said on Monday that 36 projects have been approved for green lane services since the passage of the Executive Order (EO) No. 18 in February, with the projects valued at a combined P1.2 trillion.

The BoI said 23 projects worth P498.91 billion were approved last year, while the remaining P697.98 billion were approved this year.

The list includes the P22-billion floating solar project of Fuego Renewable Energy Corp. (FREC) in Nueva Ecija.

“This is the fourth green lane certificate in our portfolio, and we have experienced responsiveness from government agencies and institutions in our various permitting needs,” FREC President Aristotle Natividad said in a statement. 

“With this latest green lane endorsement, we expect to achieve the same results and materialize our project at the soonest,” he added.

According to the investment promotion agency, FREC is set to build the Pantabangan Floating Solar Power Plant which is a 464-megawatt alternating current (MWac) floating solar photovoltaic project.

Its other three projects that were endorsed for green lane services are the 137.48-MWac Ubay Power Plant under Ubay Solar Corp., the 175.29-MWac Barotac Viejo Solar Power Project under Magallanes Solar Energy Corp., and the 59.84-MWac Gamu Solar Power Plant under Intramuros Solar Energy Corp.

FREC’s recently-endorsed project which will rise on the surface of Pantabangan Lake is scheduled for commissioning in 2025, with its energy output contracted for export to the National Grid.

“Notably, the project site is located within the Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve. The location of the transmission lines and other facilities onshore will fall under the protected area or watershed classification,” the BoI said.

The project is expected to generate 2,000 temporary and permanent direct jobs in its construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance.

 EO 18, approved on Feb. 24, established green lanes within government agencies which will expedite the process of granting permits and licenses through the One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments (OSACSI).

OSACSI issues endorsement letters to the Department of Energy, National Government agencies, and local government units, which designate projects as strategic, which will in turn ensure processing times fall within the periods prescribed in EO 18. — Justine Irish D. Tabile