Meralco keen on wind power partnerships

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is eyeing to partner with developers of two to three wind projects as part of boosting the group’s renewable energy portfolio, its top official said.

Meralco is looking at investing in two to three wind farms still under development, president Oscar Reyes said.

One of wind developers Meralco is in talks with is Island Wind Energy Corp. “That’s one,” Reyes said.

Island Wind Energy is developing the 151.2-MW Talim Wind Power Project in Talim Island, Binangonan and Cardona, Rizal.

The project will be done in two phases. The first wind farm is scheduled to start commercial operations on June 30, 2020 or 21 months after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) issues its final approval.

Recently, the wind farm was declared by the Department of Energy (DOE) as energy projects of national significance (EPNS).

Earlier, Meralco Powergen Corp. (MGen) president Rogelio Singson said discussions are ongoing with a number of existing project developers for potential partnerships.

In particular, the company is working with a partner on the development of a 150 MW wind generation project within the Meralco franchise area.

MGen is Meralco’s subsidiary for power generating investments.

So far, Meralco has existing renewable energy investments under Spectrum which formally signalled the group’s entry into the renewable energy space by developing rooftop and utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects to meet the requirements of commercial, industrial and residential customers.

The subsidiary has over 10 MW of solar portfolio, which includes the 2.5-MW Tanauan solar project of cigarette manufacturer PMFTC Inc. in its Batangas factory—its single biggest project in its portfolio.