By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter

RENEWABLE ENERGY company Raslag Corp. has estimated an investment of up to P37 billion to achieve its goal of expanding its portfolio to 1,000 megawatts (MW) by 2035.

“We still need about P32 billion to P37 billion of investment to meet that [goal], and that’s assuming 100% ownership of all plants,” Raslag Chief Finance Officer Karl Geo D. Origeneza said in an interview with BusinessWorld.

Raslag develops, owns, and operates solar power plants to provide utility-scale renewable energy to on-grid customers.

Currently, the company has a total installed capacity of 77.844 MW from four facilities in Pampanga.

Mr. Origeneza said that the cost of developing a solar project ranges from P35 million to P40 million per megawatt.

Raslag is currently developing the P4.8-billion Raslag 7 and 8 solar projects, with a combined capacity of 140 MW direct current.

The company is looking to put up a battery energy storage system (BESS) for the solar projects, which could store electrical energy from the grid and release it when needed to augment supply or improve power quality.

Last month, Raslag announced plans to raise up to P2 billion through a private placement of preferred shares by July.

The issuance will consist of up to 15 million preferred shares, with a base size of up to P1.5 billion and an oversubscription option of up to P500 million.

“Although we’re still finalizing the final use of proceeds for the equity funding activity, the majority of it will be for Raslag 7 and 8,” said Mr. Origeneza.

“It takes around two years to develop a project, and given the size of our upcoming project, we will be really hands-on with this one,” he added.

Meanwhile, he said the company is finalizing a power supply agreement with a distribution utility to contract a portion of the capacity from Raslag 4.

Last year, Raslag energized its 36.646-megawatt-peak solar power plant in Magalang, Pampanga, which is expected to produce 53 gigawatt-hours of electricity and power 24,000 homes per year.

While most of its portfolio consists of solar farms, the company is open to exploring other renewable energy technologies.

“We’re definitely looking at other projects because we want to have a diversified portfolio, and to potentially generate energy also when the sun is down,” he said.

Mr. Origeneza said the company is optimistic about its growth prospects, as the cash flows from its strategically planned pipeline of solar projects are expected to drive its expansion.

“As for the sector, it’s positive. Maybe of course you’ll see numerous articles about projects coming online so you can see them left to right. So obviously there’s tremendous growth in the sector,” he said.