EDC secures P2.7-B funding for wind farm project

MANILA, Philippines - Lopez-led geothermal firm Energy Development Corp. (EDC), has signed separate two-year bridge facilities worth P2.7 billion with two local banks to partly fund the construction of the second phase of the 150-megawatt Burgos Wind Farm.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, EDC said it signed bridge facilities with the Philippine National Bank and Security Bank Corp.

With the bridge facilities, EDC is on track to completing its wind farm project in phases.

EDC said it is expected to complete the first phase of the project, with 87 MW in the fourth quarter of the year and the second phase in the second quarter of 2015.

The 150-MW Burgos wind project will be the largest operating wind farm in the Philippines, generating approximately 365 gigawatt-hours annually to supply electricity to over a million households, EDC said.

The expansion raises the total project investment cost to $450 million from $300 million originally.

Furthermore, the Lopez-led firm said the wind farm project is expected to help address the power supply situation in the Luzon grid, which needs an additional 4,200 MW in the next 10 years due to the projected 4.5 percent annual increase in electricity demand.

EDC broke ground for the project in April last year after signing a contract with Vestas, the world’s leading wind turbine manufacturer.

EDC is the world’s largest geothermal producer and one of the leading renewable energy companies in the Philippines with a portfolio of 1,150 MW of geothermal power, 132 MW of hydroelectric plants and soon the 150-MW Burgos wind project.

Its plants include the Tongonan plant, situated in Kananga, Leyte while its Palinpinon plants are in Negros Oriental. EDC acquired the two plants in 2009, which at the time were running at 180 MW (Palininon) and 84 MW (Tongonan).