Phinma-owned Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corp. is investing P6.45 billion to build the first wind power project in the Visayas.
A project brief shows the plant in San Lorenzo, Guimaras, will have a capacity of 54 megawatts, almost double that of the country’s lone commercial wind farm in Bangui, Ilocos Norte, at 30 MW.
Trans-Asia Renewable will deliver the generated electricity to the Visayas grid via the Ingore, Iloilo, substation owned by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.
The price is P10 per kilowatt-hour in the first year upon approval by the Energy Regulatory Commission, double the average generation charge nationwide, but wind power is non-polluting and conserves scarce foreign exchange.
This is the first project of Trans-Asia Renewable, a wholly owned subsidiary of Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Co., the energy arm of the holding company controlled by the Del Rosario family.
Phinma is also into property, education, financial services and business process outsourcing.
The Guimaras project is the first to be applied by Trans-Asia Renewable for registration with the Board of Investments.
The project was endorsed by the Department of Energy.
The project will employ a total of 75 personnel once it becomes operational in November 2013.
The P6.453-billion investments will cover pre-operating costs, site preparation and acquisition and installation of equipment. Thirty-five percent of the investment will be funded through equity.
The project has been registered under RA 9513 (Renewable Energy Act of 2008) which offers duty-free importation of equipment and income tax holiday, among other incentives.
Guimaras is one of 12 areas identified by the DOE as having a high potential for wind energy utilization.
The project is among nine projects with a combined cost of P10.5 billion approved by the Board of Investments at last Wednesday’s board meeting.
The Ilocos wind power farm started operation in 2005, initially with 15 wind turbines arranged on a single row on the shores of Bangui Bay. Its output has since been raised to 30 MW.
The plant supplies power to the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative.
The DOE has awarded about 40 renewable energy service contracts for wind energy development, but most of these are pre-developmental.
The Wind Energy Development Association of the Philippines sees the Philippines as having the potential of becoming a leader in wind energy production in Southeast Asia because of the abundance of wind sites as reflected by the number of service contracts awarded,
The group said that once these contracts are developed, these can produce a combined capacity of 1,000 MW and attract $3 billion in direct and indirect investments.
A study by the US-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows that the Philippines has a potential to produce about 70,000 MW of wind power.
The group is composed of 14 companies, including Trans-Asia Oil and Energy, the Lopezes’ Energy Development Corp., PetroEnergy Resources and UPC Renewables.
Trans-Asia Oil and Energy is not new to Guimaras. It owns a 3.2 MW plant that supplies power to the island.
The Guimaras plant, however, is probably the smallest in Trans-Asia Oil and Energy’s business portfolio.
It owns CIP Power Corp., which runs the 21 MW plant and transmission system that supplies power to more than 50 companies and factories at the Carmelray Industrial Park II in Calamba, Laguna.
Trans-Asia Oil and Energy also manages the entire 116 MW generation output of One Subic Power Generation Corp. at the Subic Freeport.
Trans-Asia Oil and Energy was a member of a consortium that operated the Cadlao oilfield in northwest Palawan. The field produced 11 million barrels of oil in the 1980s. It also has interest in Service Contract 55 in western Palawan and another service contract at Camotes Sea in the Central Visayas.
Phinma has another power subsidiary, Trans-Asia Power Generation Corp. It runs a 52 MW power plant that supplies all the requirements of Union Cement Corp. in Norzagaray, Bulacan, and Bacnotan, La Union. This particular business is linked to Phinma’s roots as among the biggest players in the cement business.
Phinma’s energy business is run by Francisco Viray, energy secretary during the Ramos administration.
