Leandro Leviste was just 20 when he set up Solar Philippines in 2013, taking on the challenge of starting a business that would harness solar power to generate electricity. A year after, Solar inaugurated its first project—a 700-kilowatt solar system on the roof deck of Central Mall Biñan. This was followed by the 63.3MWdc Calatagan solar farm in Batangas and the 100MWdc Tarlac solar farm. Two more projects in Batangas and Cavite with a combined capacity of 140MW are targeted to be fully operational by 2022.
But his most ambitious project is a 500-MW solar farm in Nueva Ecija, touted to be the largest in Southeast Asia, with leasing rights covering 352.42 hectares of former pastureland. With a potential to scale up to 1.2 gigawatts, it could even be one of the largest in the world, if everything goes as planned. Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp. (SPNEC), the Solar subsidiary undertaking this massive project, recently obtained the go-ahead from corporate regulators to launch an initial public offering worth as much as P2.7 billion, bringing the first solar pure-play to the local stock market.
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