First Gen unit eyes 3 wind power projects

First Gen Renewables Inc. (FGRI), a unit of the Lopez-owned First Generation Holdings Corp., will bid for three win power projects included in the government’s country’s Wind Contracting Round (WCR).

Data from the Department of Energy (DOE showed that FGRI has specifically expressed interest to develop a potential site for a wind power project in Pandan, Antique under Phase I of WCR.

For WCR Phase II, FGRI intends to bid for Bago City and Cauayan wind power project both located in Negros Occidental.

Aside from wind power, FGRI also adheres to the development of other new and renewable energy sources such as natural gas. 

Its parent firm First Gen, the holding company for the Lopez group’s power generation assets, is expected to launch its initial public offering (IPO) soon as one of the major pillars of natural gas development in the country. 

It currently owns and operates the 1,000–megawatt Sta. Rita and 500 MW San Lorenzo gas-fired power plants in Batangas. It also plans to develop another gas-fired facility in San Rafael, also in Batangas.

Aside from these power plants, First Gen, the largest Filipino-owned independent power producer in the Philippines with an installed capacity of 1,727 mw also has interests in the 225-MW Bauang plant in La Union (37.3 percent), and the 1.6-MW Agusan mini-hydroelectric plant (100 percent) in the main southern island of Mindanao.

A couple of years ago, the DOE launched the Renewable Energy Policy Framework (REPF) that aims to country’s increase the renewable energy-based capacity to 100 percent in 10 years. 

The department is offering for exploration and development 1,200 MW of additional generating capacities for geothermal, 2,950 MW for hydro, 345 MW for wind and 450 MW additional capacities for solar and biomass.

The DOE said the increased dependence on renewable and indigenous energy sources will consequently bring down the import bill and yield foreign exchange savings for the government.

 To further promote its development, utilization and commercialization, the proposed Renewable Energy Bill, now filed in Congress, also seeks to mandate all power generating companies to source out a percentage of their power supply from renewable energy sources.

In the power sector, renewable energy accounted for 34 percent in the power generation mix for 2004 (geothermal, 18 percent; hydro, 15 percent) while indigenous natural gas accounted for 22 percent.  Use of coal and oil as fuel source stood at 29 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

Total installed generating capacity for power plants using renewable energy sources stood at 5,130 MW (1,913 MW for geothermal and 3,217 MW for hydro).

Based on the Philippine Energy Plan, the total share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix is targeted to reach 42 percent in 2010.