SunAsia, Thailand's Gunkul partner on P62.5-B Laguna Lake floating solar project

Philippine solar developer SunAsia Energy has partnered with Thailand-listed Gunkul Engineering on a floating solar project in Laguna Lake valued at over $1 billion (P62.5 billion). The project aims to reach one gigawatt in installed capacity and become Southeast Asia's largest floating solar instal

PHILIPPINE solar developer SunAsia Energy, Inc. has partnered with Thailand-listed renewable energy and infrastructure company Gunkul Engineering Public Co. Ltd. on a Laguna Lake floating solar development valued at more than $1 billion, or about P62.5 billion, and envisioned to reach approximately one gigawatt (GW) in installed capacity.

SunAsia said in a statement Wednesday that the partnership was formalized on Sept. 3 and forms part of a clean-energy initiative that is designed to become the largest floating solar installation in Southeast Asia.

“This milestone comes at a defining moment as the Philippines hosts the ASEAN Energy Ministers’ Meeting in October this year,” SunAsia Chief Executive Officer and President Tetchi Capellan said.

Gunkul is a publicly listed energy and infrastructure company involved in renewable energy, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), and electrical equipment. It has been listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand since 2010.

“SunAsia is working with floating solar experts across the region, drawing on a century of engineering knowledge and experience to design for the future while anticipating risks today and building resilience for the years ahead,” SunAsia Vice-President for Strategic Projects Karlo Abril said.

Before Gunkul’s entry, Blueleaf Energy Philippines, a Macquarie Capital portfolio company, had been involved in the project since 2021, providing development and funding support, SunAsia said.

The company said the floating solar development would require engineering solutions suited to water conditions, including humidity, corrosion, wind, waves, and other environmental and mechanical stresses. It also said the development is expected to support local manufacturing of supply components, particularly floaters, and generate employment in engineering, construction, electrical and mechanical works, logistics, operations, and environmental management.

NewAsia Power Energy II Corp. and Nortesol II, Inc., both subsidiaries of SunAsia, are securing clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to develop two floating solar projects in Laguna. Each project is designed to have a capacity of 131.789 megawatts-peak (MWp), for a combined capacity of 263.578 MWp and a total project cost of P12.04 billion.

SunAsia, established in 2013, develops renewable energy projects in the Philippines, with a focus on solar energy. Its projects include a 60-megawatt solar facility in Toledo, Cebu, while it has operated a floating solar test bed on Laguna Lake since 2019.