ERC approves PetroWind Energy project

MANILA, Philippines - PetroWind Energy Inc. (PWEI) has obtained two key approvals from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the power regulator, which brings PWEI its 50-megawatt Nabas Wind Power Project in Aklan a step closer to commercial operations.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the local bourse, PetroWind said it has received the green light from the ERC to develop, own, and operate dedicated point-to-point facilities connecting the Nabas wind farm to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ (NGCP) Nabas-Caticlan 69-kV overhead transmission line.

In a separate certification released Dec. 19, the ERC likewise approved the commissioning tests of the first eight wind turbine generators (WTGs) in Nabas for a period of two months from Jan. 17 to March 17, 2015, PetroWind said in its disclosure.

“These ERC decisions show PWEI’s strict compliance on rules set by the DOE, NGCP, ERC, and the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001) for the construction and operation of inter-connection facilities by private generators,” PWEI president Milagros Reyes said.

Reyes said the company would test the remaining 10 WTGs of its Phase 1 soon to complete the project by the end of March 2015.

“The projected completion of Nabas-Phase 1 in March and the ERC transmission approval are timely because power demand in Boracay peaks during the summer months,” said PWEI executive vice president F. G. Delfin Jr. 

PWEI is a joint-venture company, which is 40 percent owned by PetroEnergy Resources Corp.’s wholy-owned subsidiary PetroGren Energy Corp., 40 percent by Singapore-based CapAsia ASEAN Wind Holdings Coperatief U.A., and 20 percent by EI Power Corp.

Aklan Gov. Florencio T. Miraflores welcomed the commissioning of the P4 billion Nabas Phase-1 Wind Power Project – the single biggest investment in Aklan province to date.

He said the project would help meet demand for power in Boracay as well as becoming an eco-tourism attraction in its own right.