Yuchengco’s expanded wind farm powers Panay

Communities in Panay, which suffered from a massive power outage earlier this year, will benefit from the upcoming commercial operation of the Phase 2 expansion of the Nabas Wind Power Project of PetroWind Energy Inc. 

The first three 2.2 megawatts Vestas wind-turbine generators of the project successfully exported an initial power supply to the grid on Thursday.  

In a report to the stock exchange, PetroGreen Energy Corp. president and CEO F.G. Delfin Jr. said the company is optimistic about the eventual commercial operation of the project resulting from the commissioning.

“We are very grateful for the support not only of the DOE and its attached agencies NGCP, IEMOP and ERC, but also that of our lender the Development Bank of the Philippines,” Delfin said.

Stable Panay supply

Upon completion, the project will not only provide much-needed electricity to Panay Island but also substantially enhance the company’s revenue generation capabilities, Delfin emphasized.

The Nabas Wind Power Project’s Phase 2 expansion in Aklan is PWEI’s second wind power unit and PGEC’s sixth renewable energy generating plant.

Last year, state-owned DBP provided a P1.8 billion loan to PWEI to partially fund the development and construction of the project.

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla reiterated that augmenting supply on the island will boost the country’s clean and renewable energy capacity, a vital factor in sustaining long-term economic growth.

“This is the newest power station added to the system since the 2 January 2024 grid blackout and we congratulate PWEI for this milestone… This commissioning testifies to the efforts of our private sector partners, working with the administration,” Lotilla said.

PGEC is the renewable energy arm of publicly-listed PetroEnergy Resources Corp. and is a joint venture with Kyuden International Corp., the overseas investment unit of Kyushu Electric Power of Japan. 

PGEC and PERC, both part of the  Yuchengco Group of Companies, own a combined 60 percent equity interest in PWEI, while BCPG Wind Cooperatief U.A., a subsidiary of Thailand’s BCPG Public Company Ltd., owns 40 percent.