DMCI Power Corp. (DPC) expects to complete a 12-megawatt wind project in Semirara Island, Antique in 2024.
DPC chairman Isidro Consunji said if the technology proves successful, they can increase the capacity up to 100 MW and export the excess power supply.
“We will put up 12-MW initially. We think the potential is more than 100 MW,” Consunji said.
The Semirara wind project is estimated to cost $1 million per megawatt to construct, excluding the interconnection cost.
Consunji said the wind potential of Semirara Island is superior to that of Puerto Galera in Mindoro Island.
A wind resource study conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 2001 found that Semirara Island has some of the best wind resources in the Philippines.
The wind corridors between Luzon and Panay, including Semirara Islands and extending to the Cuyo Islands, were found to have good-to-excellent wind power density and speed for utility-scale or village power applications.
Meanwhile, DPC president Antonino Gatdula Jr. said they were also developing a 4-megawatt solar project in Mindoro.
Gatdula said the company was waiting for the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission on the power supply agreement with Masbate Electric Cooperative for the solar project.
“We’re done with the prefiling, and the ERC asked us to submit something. Once we submit that, we will file PSA for approval,” he said.
The company operates in major islands including Masbate, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan and Sultan Kudarat.
Most of DPC’s power projects run on bunker fuel. The proposed wind farm development signals the firm’s branching out to renewable energy.