Lopez-led EDC seals deal for wind farm

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EDC seals deal with Danish firm Vesta for supply of 29 wind turbines for its Burgos project, more than the 20 that the Bangui wind farm has now

MORE POWER. A new wind farm in Ilocos is coming in 2015. Photo by Michael Josh Villanueva.

MANILA, Philippines – The renewable energy unit of the Lopez business group is moving forward with its wind farm project in Ilocos Norte northwest of Luzon.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday, March 1, Energy Development Corp. (EDC) said it has signed a $300 million deal with Danish firm Vestas for the supply of wind turbines, construction of a wind farm, a substation and a transmission line.

EDC announced its plans for the 87-MW wind farm in the town of Burgos way back in 2009, but it waited for the government’s policy on renewable energy projects, including the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme, which allows private investors to pass on some of their capital costs to consumers.

When EDC announced the Vestas deal on Friday, it also said it is looking to commission the project by 2014.

Vestas is the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, and has previously supplied 20 wind turbines to NorthWind Power Development Corp., which operates a wind farm in nearby Bangui town. (Ayala Corp has a 50% stake in NorthWind via wholly-owned unit Michigan Power Inc.).

Vestas is supplying 29 V90-3.0 MW wind turbines to EDC for the Burgos Wind Project (BWP), which is expected to generate 233 GWh annually and power over a million households once operational.

The Burgos Wind Project covers approximately 600 hectares across 3 barangays: Saoit, Poblacion, and Nagsurot.

The wind farm will be connected to the Luzon grid via the 115 kV transmission line to the Burgos substation of National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

“We have long prepared for this project and we are determined to achieve commerciality at the soonest possible time so we can supply the Luzon grid with clean, sustainable wind energy,” said EDC chairman and chief executive officer Federico Lopez.

“The project is aligned with the long-term strategic direction of First Gen Corporation (parent company of EDC) to be the country’s leading diversified renewable energy company. It will displace an equivalent of about 129,000 tons of carbon emissions annually and will definitely help mitigate climate change,” Lopez said.

EDC noted that the Luzon grid requires an additional 4,200 MW over the next 10 years based on a projected 4.5% annual increase in electricity demand.

EDC is the country’s biggest geothermal power producer.

PRESIDENTIAL CALL. Energy Development Corporation (EDC) chairman emeritus Oscar Lopez and chairman and chief executive officer Federico Lopez, and Vestas Wind Systems president and chief executive officer Ditlev Engel paid a courtesy call on President Benigno S. Aquino III at Malacañan Palace on Friday, March 1. Photo by Malacañang bureau

– Rappler.com

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