LT Group to continue push in renewable energy

MANILA, Philippines - The Lucio Tan Group is continuing its push in the renewables sector albeit a standstill in the feed-in tariff (FIT) system with its 40-megawatt (MW) biomass power plant, which is targeted to start providing electricity in Negros Occidental by mid-2017, its top official said.

LT Group Inc. president Michael Tan told The STAR the group is looking at the renewable energy (RE) sector on an opportunistic basis given the current state of the industry.

“It is more opportunistic for us. We’re looking at more renewable than (traditional),” he said.

However, pushing for renewable energy projects would be tough without expanding the FIT system into a third round, Tan said.

“If there is no FIT, I don’t think it is feasible,” he said, noting the group is one with other companies that are on a wait-and-see mode for the next round for solar and wind.

After overshooting targets, the government is not likely to extend the FIT – particularly for solar and wind – into another round unless the fiscal incentives will not be sourced from consumers.

Because of this, Tan said the group has put on hold its wind project in partnership with Alternergy Wind One Corp. of former Energy secretary Vince Perez.

The LT Group has been in talks with Alternergy since 2015 for the 72 to 80 MW Sembrano wind farm expansion which would span the towns of Pililla, Rizal and Mabitac and Pakil in Laguna.

The said project is an expansion of the 67.5-MW Pililla wind power project in Rizal of Alternergy.

Despite the current situation in the RE sector, Tan said the LT Group is committed to continue with its RE push with its 40-MW biomass project in Negros Occidental.

“But for biomass, we’re continuing with Victorias [Milling Co. Inc.] because it has not been taken up yet, the 250 MW,” he said. “[It will be] operational mid-year of this year. It’s a P2-billion investment.”

In August 2014, LT Group raised its ownership in Victorias Milling to 23.5 percent. It was in January 2015 when the sugar miller announced its plans to venture into power generation with a 40-MW biomass plant.

For biomass, government has set an installation target of 250 MW and a FIT rate of P6.63 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) under the FIT system.

The LT Group started to join the RE bandwagon with the P189 million, two megawatt solar plant in the Lian, Batangas facility of Absolut Distillers Inc.

The solar plant, which was inaugurated last March, can supply 60 percent of the alcohol distillery’s power requirements and can also sell its entire output to the Luzon grid.