Basic Energy to pursue Batangas wind farm

MANILA, Philippines — Basic Energy Corp. (BEC) plans to  pursue a 50-megawatt (MW) wind farm in Batangas as part of expanding its revenue-generating streams.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, BEC said the board of its wholly owned subsidiary Mabini Energy Corp. (MEC) approved the principal terms of the pro-forma Wind Energy Service Contract (WESC) with the Department of Energy (DOE).

The WESC covers a targeted 50 MW wind energy project in Mabini Peninsula, Batangas, that will expand over 4,860 hectares of land.

The pro-forma WESC provides for a non-extendible five years pre-development stage and a 25-year development stage, counted from contract signing, which is extendible for another 25 years, subject to DOE approval.

“Subsequent disclosures will be made upon final approval of the WESC by the DOE and upon awarding of the WESC to MEC,” BEC said.

In 2019, BEC announced plans to develop wind and solar projects in the country to provide additional revenue-generating streams while it continues to explore geothermal prospects.

At that time, the company submitted a letter of interest  to the DOE for a possible wind project with a potential of 40-50 MW of wind capacity in Luzon.

The company has also been in discussions with a potential partner to build a solar power project in one of its land assets.

BEC has a 20 percent participation interest in the Iriga geothermal project which is being operated by DESCO Inc. The project has an approved work program for the drilling of two wells up to 2022.

Apart from the Iriga project, its other geothermal service contracts include the East Mankayan geothermal prospect in Ifugao and the West Bulusan geothermal prospect in Sorsogon.

BEC also has a 15 percent equity in Vintage EPC Co, and VTE International Construction Co. both  companies are registered in Thailand and are the primary EPC contractors of a 220-MW solar power project in Minbu, Myanmar.