The Department of Energy said it would award six pre-commercial contracts for wind resource development next year.

Up for award are four sites in the northern province of Ilocos Norte, one site in Negros Occidental in the central Philippines and another in neighboring Negros Oriental to three companies, the department said in its 2008 accomplishment report.

Energy Development Corp. (EDC), a unit of the Lopez group, has been pre-qualified to assess and develop the Nagsurot site, and has also entered the pre-qualification stage for the Pagudpud site, both in Ilocos Norte.

Two more sites in Pagudpud are up for award to Northern Luzon UPC Asia Corp., which has submitted all the requirements for its pre-commercial contract applications.

The DOE, however, still has to resolve the matter of some areas contained in the company’s application that overlap with the Pagudpud site that EDC is eyeing.

Outside of Luzon, Constellation Energy Corp. has applied for the development of wind power sites in Ilog, Negros Occidental and in Tanjay, Pamplona, Negros Oriental.

The company is currently in the pre-qualification phase.

The signing into law of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 is expected to spur investments in the renewable energy sector, including wind power, because of the incentives that the law provides.

Some of those incentives are exemptions from tariff duties and zero-rated value-added tax for the importation of machinery and equipment for the first 10 years of an operating contract, as well as tax credit on domestic capital equipment and services.

Special realty tax rates will be imposed on equipment and machinery to be used for renewable energy development. An income tax holiday will also be granted to potential investors for the first seven years of commercial operations.

Carbon credits to be derived from renewable energy projects will likewise be tax-free.