Sepalco — Philippines

Sepalco is a 45 MW solar power plant in Eastern Visayas, Philippines. It is operated by Sulu Electric Power and Light Inc.. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 19k homes (estimated). It ranks #128 of 186 Philippines power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2016, it is around 10 years old — relatively modern. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, solar supplies about 2.4% of Philippines's electricity; the national grid averages 588 gCO₂/kWh (23.3% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1029967.

Data provenance

Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.

capacity: WRI GPPD; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 45 MW, Sepalco is well above the median solar plant in Philippines (16 MW). Solar PV converts sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts or fuel; output varies by time of day and weather, so it pairs with storage or flexible backup.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Share of Philippines solar capacity

3.5% of 1,296 MW across 48 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

0 of 27 dated solar plants in Philippines are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest solar plants in Philippines

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Sulu Electric Power and Light Inc..

Local climate & thermal context

This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 11.1°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

This site has effectively no heating season (tropical/equatorial climate), so winter heat loss is not the driver here. The thermal concern shifts to year-round process heat and humidity/heat-driven corrosion of hot equipment.

Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 1.1% at warm-season highs here (estimate).

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #11 largest solar power plant of 48 in Philippines by capacity.

Philippines has 48 solar power plants in this dataset, together about 1,296 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• LEYTE GPP · Geothermal · 112.5 MW · Eastern Visayas
• UNIFIED LEYTE · Geothermal · 610.2 MW · Eastern Visayas
• Leyte I · Solar · 30.4 MW · Eastern Visayas
• Isabel Copper power station · Coal · 200 MW ·
• SMC Leyte power station · Gas · 600 MW · Leyte
• SMC Cebu power station · Gas · 600 MW · Central Visayas

Location

Coordinates 11.121, 124.9723 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions