Alternergy gives up wind service contract

MANILA, Philippines — Renewable energy company Alternergy Holdings Corp. is giving up its wind energy service contract (WESC) for an offshore wind development in Occidental Mindoro after finding the project unfeasible.

Alternergy said its subsidiary, Calavite Passage Wind Power Corp. (CPWPC), approved to surrender the WESC covering the Calavite Passage offshore wind project to the Department of Energy (DOE).

According to the company, CPWPC’s board discussed the several technical issues that make unfeasible the development of the Calavite Passage wind project located at offshore and onshore Occidental Mindoro.

The surrender of the WESC covering the Calavite Passage Project was likewise ratified by the stockholders of CPWPC.

“The WESC covering the Calavite Passage located offshore and onshore Occidental Mindoro will be returned to the DOE pursuant to our obligations under the WESC, while the development of the three Tablas Strait WESCs will be further explored,” Alternergy president Gerry Magbanua said.

Alternergy and Shell Overseas Investment B.V. in November 2022 obtained a WESC from the DOE to assess the feasibility of an offshore wind project in the Calavite Passage.

The project was earlier seen as having a potential capacity of one gigawatt.

Aside from the Calavite Passage project, Alternergy had previously bagged three additional offshore WESCs from the DOE.

The company has been granted exclusive rights to explore, develop, and utilize wind resource in the wind-swept Tablas Strait separating Oriental Mindoro and Antique.

The three wind energy service contracts awarded by the DOE for the Tablas Strait offshore wind power project covers about 120,000 hectares.

The projects are located in one of the zones identified by a World Bank study that is most suited to offshore wind development.

The offshore wind power projects are part of the company’s robust expansion plans in the coming years.

Alternergy said results of the preliminary study for the three sites showed positive indications.

“As with any offshore wind development, preliminary studies are used to understand the complexity and feasibility of the contract areas to select the best sites for development. Based on these studies, the three sites are deemed feasible for offshore wind development exploration,” Magbanua said.

Alternergy, which debuted at the Philippine Stock Exchange as the first initial public offering this year, is a renewable energy company with a solid portfolio of project companies engaged in different renewable energy projects, particularly wind, run-of-river hydro, solar farm and commercial rooftop, battery storage and offshore wind projects.