Phinma unit mulls wind power plant project in NL

Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corp. (TAREC), a member of the Philippine Investment Management Inc. (Phinma) group, is exploring the possibility of putting up a wind power plant in Northern Luzon.

TAREC is a wholly-owned affiliate of Trans-Asia Power Generation Corp., the power-related arm of the Phinma group. It seeks to participate in the development of the country’s renewable energy resources.

Phinma president Ramon del Rosario Jr. said they are trying to increase their exposure in renewable energy sources.

"One of our first interests is in NRE (new and renewable energy). We are looking at a wind power project in Sual, Pangasinan," he said.

He said they are currently gathering basic wind power plant information. "We are conducting various tests on the feasibility of the project. We are determining if there are enough wind there to produce power," he added.

According to Del Rosario, they started the study on the wind power project last year and expect to finish it soon.

But he said they would only pursue the project if the government would provide incentives for NRE-related projects.

"Fiscal incentives and tax breaks should be there. We all know that developing NRE is very expensive," he said.

He also noted that it is also crucial to mandate the use of NRE in the country to be able to sustain the development of the sector.

""First, we need a legislation that will mandate the NRE utilization," the Phinma official said.

There is a pending Renewable Energy Bill, which if passed, will help accelerate the development of RE resources, increase the utilization of RE by institutionalizing its use, and establish a framework for the grant of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to all RE activities and the program to increase its utilization.

At present, the installed capacity from renewable energy generation is 5,301.6 megawatts which represents 33 percent of the total installed generating capacity.

It is projected that generation from renewable energy will double by year 2013 with the passage of the renewable energy bill.

The country has more than enough potentials to be self-reliant on energy generation through renewable energy because it has a wind power potential of 76,600 MW, geothermal at 1,200 MW, hydropower over 10,000 MW, solar at an average of 5 to 5.1 MW, biomass at 900 MW equivalent and ocean at 170,000 MW.