ERC okays EDC’s 150-MW wind farm

MANILA, Philippines - The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved the application of the Lopez Group’s 150-megawatt Burgos Wind Project (BWP) for a certificate of compliance (COC).

The ERC gave the green light on Feb. 9 to Energy Development Corp. (EDC), the Lopez-led geothermal company, after it earlier granted the wind project the provisional authority to operate.

The project also received the certificate of endorsement for feed-in-tariff (FIT) eligibility from the Department of Energy, issued after validation of the project’s successful commissioning on Nov. 5, 2014.

EDC president and chief operating officer Richard Tantoco urged other renewable energy players to also invest in the sector.

“The transparent and predictable regulatory regime we have in the Philippines should encourage more players to pursue much needed renewable energy investments in the country.  Few people know that our country is built on an island-arc setting characterized by volcanism, and in such settings we will not have large reserves of oil, natural gas and coal.  We badly need renewable energy to help us become less reliant on volatile imports,” Tantoco said.

To date, the BWP is the largest wind project in the country consisting of 50 units of the Vestas V90 wind turbine generators, which has a rated capacity of three MW each.

EDC said the project could generate about 370 gigawatt-hours every year and avoid an estimated 200,000 tons of carbon emissions.

“We are also happy to help boost the Luzon grid with 150 MW of clean, reliable power and address the looming power shortage in Luzon and Visayas,” Tantoco said.

The project mark’s EDC’s first foray into the wind energy business and its single largest investment to date, with a total of $450 million poured into the project.

The amount includes the $315 million in project financing with leading international and local banks led by EKF, Denmark’s export credit agency.