PetroWind Energy expands wind farm in Aklan

NABAS, Aklan  , Philippines  —  Yuchengco-led PetroWind Energy Inc. (PWEI) is expanding its wind farm here by another 14 megawatts, a ranking official said.

The project expansion, estimated to cost P1.4 billion, will bring the total capacity of the Nabas wind project to a peak of  50 MW, PWEI executive vice president Francisco Delfin Jr. said in an interview yesterday.

“We want Nabas 2 to be online or at least ready for connection to the grid by early 2021,” he said.

The target is dependent on the completion of the Negros-Panay-Cebu grid project of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

“Based on their schedule, they say they can accommodate new variable renewable energy plant in the CNP by early 2021 because they’re still strengthening that line to accommodate more variable renewable energy because there are so many solar plants in Negros,” Delfin said.

To start the project, PWEI is exploring several options for the expansion project’s off-taker.

The company is looking at a possible bilateral off-grid power supply contract with Aklan Electric Cooperative (Akelco), Delfin said.

“One is we’re discussing with Akelco for a possible bilateral off-grid. We started to introduce the project to Akelco,” he said.

The firm is also eyeing to secure a supply contract through the retail competition and open access (RCOA) scheme.

Under RCOA, large electricity consumers in Luzon and Visayas with an average monthly peak demand of at least one MW can apply to become a contestable customer in order to have the ability to choose its own electricity supplier.

The third option is to participate in the planned renewable energy auction of the Department of Energy (DOE), Delfin said.

Once PWEI secures the off-taker, the project company would proceed to bidding and awarding the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.

“If we secure an off-take as early as maybe fourth quarter of this year, we will award the contracts and hope to start by the fourth quarter this year. We figure maybe between 16 to 18 months from the award to commissioning.”

The 36-MW Nabas 1 started commercial operations in 2015 and is receiving an off-take payment of a feed-in-tariff (FIT) rate of P7.40 per kilowatt-hour (kwh).

PWEI’s shareholders include PetroGreen Energy Corp. (PEGC) with 40 percent, Thai firm BCPG Public Co. Ltd with 40 percent and EEI Power Corp. with 20 percent.

PGEC is the renewable energy holding company of publicly-listed PetroEnergy Resources Corp. (PERC), which is part of the Yuchengco group of companies.