Basic Energy Corp. (BEC), chaired by businessman Ramon Villavicencio, has set a P13.6 million budget allocation to fire up a joint venture with Japanese firm RENOVA Inc. that will develop a 50-megawatt (MW) wind project in Mabini, Batangas.
In a regulatory filing on Friday, the company said its Board of Directors approved the move as part of the signed Joint Development Shareholders Agreement (JDSHA) between the parties.
BEC and RENOVA formalized their alliance by signing the JDSHA in April where they agreed to share equal equity (50:50) in Mabini Energy Corp. (MEC), which will be primarily responsible for managing the project.
MEC secured the Mabini Wind Energy Service Contract (WESC) from the Department of Energy in March 2021. The company was granted the exclusive rights to explore, develop, and harness wind energy resources within the expansive 4,860-hectare contract area.
Previously, BEC President Chito Poblete told reporters that the full-swing construction of the project is scheduled by 2026 once all necessary feasibility studies, including the Wind Resource Assessment (WRA), are complete.
A WRA will allow the selection of the most suitable Wind Turbine Generators for the project.
In November of 2022, BEC installed a 120-meter Meteorological Mast in Barangay San Teodoro, Mabini. It was followed by deploying advanced LIDAR technology in Barangay Estrella, Mabini, in June 2023.
BEC said these efforts are necessary to conduct a more thorough evaluation of the project's potential and to estimate its annual energy production.
Once operational, the Mabini Wind Power Project is expected to contribute at least 50 MW of clean energy to the national grid.
The Mabini WESC spans 25 years, including a five-year pre-development stage, with the potential for a 25-year extension.