Alabat Wind Farm starts generating power for Luzon grid
Alternergy Holdings Corp. has energized its 64-megawatt (MW) Alabat Wind Farm in Quezon Province, with its first three turbines now generating electricity for the Luzon grid ahead of the Amihan season.
The project is among the first wind developments awarded under the Department of Energy's second Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP 2) in 2023 to achieve transmission line energization. It is also the first wind project in Quezon to reach the milestone under the program.
The initial energization covers three wind turbines and a 37-kilometer, 69-kilovolt transmission line connecting the facility to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines' Gumaca-Lopez (Hondagua) transmission line.
The project also features a 1.4-kilometer overhead sea-crossing connection between Alabat Island and mainland Luzon, forming Alternergy's first inter-island transmission system for a wind power project.
Energization marks a key step toward commercial operations, allowing the facility to generate electricity and earn pre-commissioning revenues while completing the remaining tests and commissioning requirements.
“With the Alabat Wind Farm now energized and generating electricity, our focus is on completing the remaining testing and commissioning activities needed to bring Alabat into commercial operations,” Alternergy President Gerry Magbanua said.
The wind farm uses 8-MW turbines, described by the company as the largest installed in Southeast Asia outside China.
Once fully operational, the 64-MW facility is expected to generate around 202 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity annually, enough to supply approximately 218,500 households. It is also projected to prevent about 150,541 metric tons of carbon emissions each year.
Magbanua thanked the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, government and community partners, contractors, lenders and project partner ABC Energy for supporting the development.
The project forms part of Alternergy's goal to develop up to one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity by 2030, in line with the government's efforts to increase the share of renewables in the country's power generation mix.