The Board of Investments approved four renewable energy projects with combined investments of P35.4 billion to address the power requirements of an infrastructure buildup program until 2022.
The projects qualified for incentives through Renewable Energy Act No. 9513, which is under the Special Laws List of the 2017 Investment Priorities Plan.
“Since the ongoing infrastructure program involves construction and modernization of airports, building of more roads, railroads and transport networks all over the country, demand for power continues to go up. In the long run, additional power is also needed to usher the growth of other industries as they undergo their own expansion and modernization,” said Trade Undersecretary and BoI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo.
VS Gripal Power Corp. will get government support for its P777-million biomass power plant in Nueva Ecija.
The other three are the P4.74-billion wind power project of Currimao Solar Energy Corp. in Camarines Norte; the P14.6-billion Talim wind power project in Rizal; and the P15.3-billion Calatagan wind project in Batangas.
The VS Gripal project involves the development, construction and operation of a 6-megawatt biomass power plant in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija. Using rice husk as feedstock, the generated electricity is expected to be traded in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market at competitive prices. Commercial operation is scheduled to start on December 2019 with 25 employees.
Currimao’s 50.4-MW Talisay Wind Power Project will be located on a 162-hectare area straddling the municipalities of Labo, Vinzons and Talisay in the province of Camarines Norte. The plant will use 14 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 3.6 MW.
Meanwhile, the Talim and Calatagan wind power projects have a capacity of 151.2 MW each.
The projects will be located on a 162 hectare-area in different locations. The Talim project situated between Binangonan and Cardona towns of Rizal, while that of Calatagan lies between Calatagan and Nasugbu towns in Batangas. Both sites will have 42 wind turbines with a capacity of 3.6 MW each once commercial operations start by September 2020.
The Talisay and Calatagan plant will employ 10 and 23 workers each. The Talim project is expected to be on stream by September 2019 with 23 personnel on board.
Currimao is currently marketing for a possible power purchase agreement with other distribution utilities.
Renewable energy plants accounted for 7,038 MW of installed capacity in the country as of June 2017, about a third of the national capacity of 21,621 MW, according to data published by the Energy Department. Total capacity of wind projects to date is 427 MW while biomass has 224 MW.