PetroEnergy’s Palawan wind farm gets go-signal from DoE

THE Yuchengcos’ energy arm PetroEnergy Resources Corp. said on Tuesday that its renewable energy unit had been awarded by the Energy department a service contract for a wind farm in San Vicente, Palawan.

In a disclosure, it said the subsidiary PetroGreen Energy Corp. received the wind energy service contract from the Department of Energy (DoE) on Nov. 11, 2019 for a proposed project in the fast-growing tourism municipality around 130 kilometers north of Puerto Princesa City.

“The eco-tourism growth in San Vicente and adjoining towns, the lack of reliable power supply, and the strong support by the provincial and municipal governments for environment-friendly energy facilities drive our decision to invest in San Vicente, Palawan,” said Maria Victoria M. Olivar, deputy chief operating officer of PetroGreen.

The service contract, which took effect from Oct. 9, 2019, awards PetroGreen with the rights and responsibilities to harness wind energy, and develop and operate the energy facility in the municipality.

“With the award of the service contract, we will proceed with our feasibility studies to ascertain the commercial viability of the block,” said Ms. Olivar, who is also assistant vice-president for technical affairs at PetroEnergy, a member of the Yuchengco Group of Companies.

PetroGreen, the renewable energy holding unit of PetroEnergy, has existing investments in power facilities, including the 32-megawatt (MW) Maibarara geothermal plant in Sto. Tomas, Batangas under Maibarara Geothermal, Inc.; the 36-MW Nabas-1 wind farm operated by PetroWind Energy Inc.; and the 70-MW Tarlac solar project in Tarlac City under PetroSolar Corp.

PetroEnergy President Milagros V. Reyes said the wind energy project is part of the group’s goal of increasing PetroGreen’s renewable energy capacities through “deliberate expansion” in selected Philippine regions.

“We recognize that this is a long-term commitment and we are excited to start working with the DoE, the Palawan local governments, and other government agencies in bringing green, indigenous, and renewable energy supply to San Vicente through wind power or wind-hybrid power systems,” she said.

The service contract for the Palawan wind farm comes months after PetroEnergy officials said in July that the company was preparing for an investment of up to P1.3 billion to build a utility-scale solar farm in Palawan that can provide 24-hour power to the island’s electric cooperative with the help of stored energy.

The ground-mounted solar photovoltaic energy source was said to be just awaiting the decision of the island’s power utility, Palawan Electric Cooperative.

On Tuesday, shares in PetroEnergy were trading higher by 1.9% at P4.28 apiece. —Victor V. Saulon