Tagbilaran City – A significant step towards a cleaner and more sustainable energy future for this city was taken last Tuesday with the groundbreaking ceremony for an 10-Megawatt (MW) peak solar power farm. The project, to be undertaken by Urban Energy Development Corporation (UEDC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mabuhay Power Holdings Corp., will be located on a 10-hectare site spanning Brgy. Dampas, Tagbilaran City, and a portion of the Municipality of Baclayon.
Key figures in Bohol’s development attended the groundbreaking ceremony, led by Bohol Governor Aris Aumentado and Tagbilaran City Mayor Jane Yap, and including Mabuhay Power Chairman Sherwin Hing and President/CEO Alfonso Reyes, and Bohol Light President/CEO Roel Castro.
Mabuhay Power Chairman Hing expressed the company’s commitment to further investment in Bohol. “We are committed to investing more in Bohol for sure,” Hing said. “This 10-megawatt peak facility that we are groundbreaking today is just the start. The province of Bohol is attractive for more power projects and we are already in the process of securing sites for two more near-term solar projects here in this beautiful province.”
Mabuhay Power President Reyes expressed the company’s commitment to supporting Bohol’s energy needs and contributing to a cleaner future. “We are fully committed to supporting the power needs of the province, and especially here in Tagbilaran and Baclayon,” Reyes said. “We are really delighted to be a part of Bohol’s story of progress, providing for a cleaner energy future, more stability, and also contributing to local employment and improved economic output, and of course, also community progress.”
Governor Aumentado expressed his gratitude for the project, highlighting its significance for the province’s development plans, particularly the conversion of the old airport property into an Information and Technology Park. “Robinsons is willing to develop the whole area in the old airport, and they need more power for the BPOs,” Aumentado said. “With this new facility being constructed by Mabuhay Power, this will tell us that there’s a future for Tagbilaran and Bohol. Especially as we convert our old airport into an IT Park, we need more power. So with your facility here, we are confident that Tagbilaran is ready.”
Tagbilaran City Mayor Jane Yap echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the project’s environmental benefits. “This is truly a powerful milestone for our city,” Yap said. “This is not only to strengthen the energy and power connection of Tagbilaran but also the environment because it is solar. This is a greener, safer, and more sustainable power.”
Bohol Light President Roel Castro also emphasized Bohol Light’s role in ensuring the optimal management of the energy to be injected into their distribution system: “As your partner, we will make sure that whatever power will be coming in, we will manage it well, optimally, to make sure that the price will be reduced.”