The Malubog Reservoir, which is located on the Carmen Copper Corporation’s mining site in Toledo City, Cebu, also serves as the location for the first functional megawatt-scale floating solar power plant in the Philippines. This groundbreaking clean energy effort was launched by Carmen Copper Corporation.
In addition to covering an area of three hectares, the floating solar power plant is equipped with 8,540 floating solar panels that have the potential to generate up to 4.99 megawatts (MW). These panels are able to provide about ten percent of the mine’s need for power. The engineering company Black & Veatch, which is located in the United States, is responsible for the development and design of the system, which has the ability to scale up to 50 megawatts (MW). This capacity would allow Carmen Copper to power its activities solely with renewable energy.
The floating photovoltaic (PV) array will be connected to the 34.5-kilovolt substation that the business operates via the solar project, which also comprises a prefabricated substation and an overhead distribution line that is six kilometres long. Over two hundred and fifty thousand man-hours were logged throughout the construction process, and there were no mishaps that resulted in lost time.
“This initiative reflects Carmen Copper’s commitment to responsible mining and environmental stewardship, while aligning with the Department of Energy’s target to have renewable energy account for at least half of the country’s total power capacity by 2040,” said Atty. Axel G. Tumulak, Head of Legal, Compliance, and Corporate Governance at Carmen Copper.
Carmen Copper, which is a fully owned subsidiary of Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation, emphasised that the floating solar power plant is an essential component of the company’s sustainability strategy, which is focused at reducing the carbon footprint that its mining activities leave behind.
