Aboitiz group to branch out into wind power

Aboitiz Power Corp.(APC), the flagship unit of the publicly-listed holding firm Aboitiz Equity Ventures, will branch out into the development of wind-propelled power as it explores the possibility of further harnessing an ongoing government project in Northern Luzon.

AEV corporate secretary Eugeniano Perez III said APC signed last Thursday a memorandum of understanding with the state-owned PNOC Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC) for the conduct of a feasibility study on the second phase of the latter’s Northern Luzon Wind Power Project.

"The study is part of the company’s continuing strategy to develop renewable energy projects," Perez said.

The project, located in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, is being funded under a special yen-loan package worth Y5.9 billion from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and is aimed at developing environmentally low-impact national energy resources.

Once completed this year, the project will provide roughly 40,000 kilowatts of scale wind power transmitted through about 42 kilometers of power lines, making it the first commercial wind power development in the Southeast Asian region. The Philippines still depends on coal and oil imports to provide for over 60 percent of its aggregate energy demand.

Earlier this month, AEV, through another subsidiary Davao Light and Power Co., said it will also bid for the privatization of the power supply for the entire Subic Bay Freeport, a franchise area with an average annual income of P689 million.

In 2002, AEV posted a record year – both financially and operationally – as it’s net income surged 40 percent to P2.2 billion, powered by the solid performances of its various business segments – power, banking and food. Last year, AEV assumed total control of shipping line WG&A after buying out its formers partners, the Chiongbian and Gothong families, for P3.65 billion.

At about the same time, AEV raised its stake in its agribusiness subsidiary Fil-Am Foods by similarly buying out its American partners Tyson Foods Inc. and PM Nutrition Co., a fully-owned unit of Purina Mills LLC.

AEV’s power units are lumped under the APC umbrella, which already spans the entire archipelago from Northern and Central Luzon to the Visayas and Mindanao islands.

APC, the biggest contributor to AEV’s income, has a nationwide network of distribution facilities.