Ayala-led ACEN is looking to complete the Php 17 billion worth of wind projects that are part of the Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP) by 2023 the soonest.
Two of ACEN’s wind projects, the 70-megawatt (MW) Caparispisan II Wind Power Project and the 160-MW Balaoi and Caunayan Wind Power Project, both in Ilocos Norte, are among the 19 contracts awarded by the Department of Energy (DOE) in the first round of the GEAP.
The Balaoi and Caunayan wind project, owned by ACEN unit Bayog Wind Power Corp., is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2023. The project cost is around Php 11.8 billion.
Caparispisan II, meanwhile, is listed under Amihan Renewable Energy Corp.
The two new wind projects are ACEN’s third and fourth wind assets in Ilocos Norte.
ACEN president Eric Francia said that the upcoming rounds of GEAP would help the Philippines achieve the goal of having a 35% RE share in the country’s energy mix by 2030.
Based on ACEN’s estimates, the country would need to build over two gigawatts annually to achieve the goal under the National Renewable Energy Program and at the same time address the demand growth of the country.
Under the GEOP, the winning bids will be awarded 20-year power supply agreements (PSAs) which are expected to commence operations between 2023 to 2025.
The GEOP would also support the participants of the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) to comply with their prescribed minimum RPS requirements.
RPS is a policy under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 where distribution utilities, electric cooperatives, and retail electricity suppliers are required to contract their power sources from RE developers by at least 1%.
