MANILA, Philippines - Subic Wind Power Generation Inc. (SWPGI) will invest $125 million for the expansion of their renewable energy project in the Freeport, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) reported yesterday.
According to SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga, the Subic agency has recently approved the request of Subic Wind Power Generation Inc. (SWPGI) to expand its business and include the establishment and operation of a solar energy project on top of its original proposal to establish and operate a wind farm.
SWPGI, a subsidiary of the China-based Sunnew Investments Ltd., had committed $75 million last year for the establishment of a 25-wind turbine farm that would generate some 50 megawatts of power.
However, after ocular surveys and initial data gathering in Subic, the firm decided to also build a solar energy project that would yield from 100 to 200 megawatts of energy, Salonga said.
The expanded project will be worth $125 million, covering some 300 hectares of land at Subic’s Mount Sta. Rita and Redondo Peninsula, and will generate from 150 to 200 megawatts of power.
It is also expected to employ about 150 workers, and earn the SBMA some $816,000 in annual lease rentals.
Salonga said that SWPGI’s renewable energy project will not only bring the Subic Freeport at the forefront of the green energy movement, but will also help stabilize power supply in the Luzon grid.
“Subic has long been a net power consumer, but with this project we’re now entertaining the prospect of Subic as a net power producer,” Salonga said.
“And what makes us more excited about this project is the fact that both wind and solar power are clean energy. This will also help us reduce the carbon footprint of the Subic Bay Freeport,” he added.
Salonga also expressed optimism that the SWPGI project would establish Subic as a pioneer in renewable energy systems, noting that the company is backed by the expertise of Sunnew, a subsidiary of China’s Red Blades Windtek Holdings Ltd.
Red Blades is said to be the only manufacturer of high-performance wind-turbine blades in China. The firm utilizes leading technology and advanced composites for multi-megawatt turbines in domestic and global markets.