The Department of Energy, or DOE, awarded Wind Energy Service Contracts, or WESCs, to global player Mainstream Renewable Power for the development of 440 megawatts, or MW of onshore wind projects in Luzon and Visayas.

The contracts, which covers the 100 MW Santa Ana Cagayan Wind Project in Cagayan Province and the 340 MW Panaon Wind Project on Panaon Island in Leyte, allows Mainstream to operate the ventures for 25 years.

Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla said over the weekend that the projects will complement the government's efforts to hasten the development of local indigenous power sources.

“The signing of these onshore wind contracts further accelerated the implementation of the thrust of the Marcos Jr. Administration to develop the country's indigenous and renewable sources of energy following the lifting of foreign ownership restrictions on renewable energy development,” Lotilla said.

“Mainstream will be bringing in financial muscle and technological heft to work with our world-class workers throughout the construction and operational phases of all these projects, which means more employment for our people and livelihood opportunities in these areas,” he added.

First fully foreign project

The project is expected to break ground in late 2024, with commercial operations slated to begin in 2026. It serves as the first onshore wind service contracts wholly-owned by a foreign firm.

According to the DoE, the projects also have a 20-year offtake contract through its Green Energy Auction Program.

Mainstream is a leading pure-play renewable energy company, with wind and solar assets across global markets, including in Latin America, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

For his part, Mainstream General Manager for Asia Pacific, Eduardo Karlin, said: “The awards of these contracts represent an important milestone for Mainstream as we continue to grow our development footprint across the Philippines.”

Growing capacities

Mainstream has been operational in the Philippines since 2017, supported by a full technical and commercial development team. It has an existing partnership with Aboitiz Power Corp. to develop the 58 MW onshore wind project in Camarines Sur.

To date, the DOE has issued 21 WESCs to ventures jointly developed by foreign-owned companies and developers. Of these, four are for offshore wind while 17 are for onshore wind.

Some of these companies are owned or partly owned by developers in European countries such as Denmark, Belgium, France, and The Netherlands.