ECC-ENEWABLES.COM

PROJECT developer Triconti ECC Renewables Corp. said it is teaming up with wpd Philippines, Inc. to build a 75-megawatt (MW) onshore wind farm in Aklan province that will require an investment of around P5 billion.

In a statement on Wednesday, Triconti said the project with the local unit of German firm wpd will feature 18 wind turbine generators with a capacity of 4.2 MW each.

“We estimate that project cost will be just a little over P5 billion,” Triconti Vice-President Theo C. Sunico told BusinessWorld on Viber.

The wind farm is set to break ground by the end of the year, he added.

On its website, wpd said that the facility is scheduled for commissioning by the end of 2023.

“The project is… part of a large-scale grid reinforcement and expansion for the islands of Cebu, Negros and Panay, called ‘CNP Backbone Extension.’ The wind farm will be connected to the grid via a new substation, which is being built by wpd and Triconti for the grid operator NGCP (National Grid Corp. of the Philippines),” wpd said in a statement.

Triconti Chief Executive Officer and Founder Lila Rosenberger said the wind farm comes at an opportune time, just as the country has set its sights on a transition towards cleaner energy.

“With wpd’s entry into the Aklan project, we are happy to do our part and contribute to the country’s sustainable growth and development,” she said.

Niclas Fritsch, chief executive of wpd Philippines, said the addition of the pipeline project positions the company in the country’s “dynamic and exciting” renewable energy market.

He said Aklan’s inclusion in wpd’s ventures is an important part of its strategy in Asia.

wpd is a developer and operator of wind and solar farms based in Bremen, Germany, while Triconti is a German-Swiss-Filipino joint venture based in the Philippines. — Angelica Y. Yang