PCC clears Alternergy wind stake sale

Renewable energy firms Alternergy Holdings Corp. and ABC Energy Inc. have secured Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) approval to jointly develop the 128 megawatts (MW) Tanay Wind Power Project and 64 MW Alabat Wind Power Project.

Alternergy, led by former Energy Secretary Vicente Perez, said Tuesday the certification, received Monday, specifically approved ABC Energy’s acquisition of a 40 percent stake in Alternergy’s wind units, Alternergy Tanay Wind Corp. and Alabat Wind Power Corp. (AWPC).

Construction is underway for both projects. 

The Alabat Wind Power Project recently installed its first 8 MW wind turbine generator (WTG), the largest commercial WTG outside China. 

Supplied by Envision Energy, the turbine has a 182-meter rotor diameter, 105-meter hub height, 90-meter blades, a typhoon-resistant design, and a segmented tower—the first of its kind in the wind industry.

“This first WTG is truly a significant milestone. There were numerous challenges, from direct shipment using a specialized barge, to constructing a special jetty on an island, to handling oversized equipment, to securing hundreds of permits and multiple stakeholder engagements,” said Knud Hedeager, president of Alternergy Wind Holdings Corp., parent of AWPC.

Once completed, the Alabat Wind Project will feature eight turbines atop the mountains of Alabat Island and Quezon, facing the Pacific Ocean, with a total capacity of 64 MW. It will be among the first wind projects completed under the second round of the government's Green Energy Auction.

Alternergy is also completing four new power projects this year with a combined capacity of 225 MW. The first, the Balsik Solar Power Plant in Hermosa, Bataan, began commercial operations in February.