San Jose Solar Power Project Secures Final Grid Connection, Readies for Commercial Operations

SJPP PV panels viewed from control building balcony

The Yuchengco-backed 19.6MWdc San Jose Solar Power Project (SJSPP) successfully secured the Final Certificate of Approval to Connect (FCATC) from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on April 14, 2025, setting the facility for commercial operations. Developed by San Jose Green Energy Corporation (SJGEC), a subsidiary of Rizal Green Energy Corporation (RGEC), the facility started exporting clean and renewable power to the Luzon grid last December 21, 2024 as part of its commissioning tests. RGEC is a joint venture of PetroGreen Energy Corporation (PGEC) and Japan’s TAISEI Corporation. 

The facility, officially inaugurated on April 24, 2025 in Brgy. Sto. Niño 3rd, San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, uses more than 24,600 units of 670Wp and over 4,500 units of 675Wp solar PV panels from Trina Solar. These panels are connected to 51 Huawei string inverters each with a 300kW nominal power, ensuring efficient conversion of solar energy into usable electricity. The project is expected to generate about 29 GWh of electricity annually enough to power ~30,000 households and displace ~20,400 tons of CO2 emissions each year.

“Receiving the FCATC underscores the RGEC team’s commitment to adhering to all required grid connection protocols for safe and efficient power plant operations,” said PGEC VP for Technical Operations Engr. Paul Elmer C. Morala. “We thank the NGCP and Nueva Ecija II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NEECO-II) for their support and assistance in connecting the facility to the Luzon grid, which highlights the importance of public-private collaboration in moving forward the country’s clean energy agenda,” added VP Morala.

“SJGEC filed for the project’s Certificate of Compliance (COC) with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on April 15, 2025. Upon the COC’s issuance and submission of formal notice of start of commercial operations in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), the Power Supply Agreement (PSA) with SJSPP’s offtaker, SN Aboitiz Power-Magat, Inc. (SNAP-MI), will take effect. When this commercial operation milestone is reached, the SJSPP will become PGEC’s eighth (8th) utility-scale renewable energy power plant, further boosting PGEC’s power generation asset portfolio and revenue stream,” declared PGEC AVP for Power Markets Dave P. Gadiano.