Greenenergy Holdings to spend $1.3B on wind power projects in PH

MANILA, Philippines—Publicly listed Greenergy Holdings Inc. plans to invest at least $1.3 billion (roughly P55 billion) to develop wind power projects in the Philippines over the next 10 years.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Greenergy Holdings (formerly Musx Corp.) said it has teamed up with China-based Tianjin Tianbao Investment and Development Corp. (TTIDC) for a joint development, funding and operation of these proposed renewable energy projects.

A memorandum of agreement was signed between the two parties on Wednesday, Greenergy said.

Under this agreement, the two companies are set to establish a joint-venture vehicle to plan the development of the wind energy projects that can generate at least 1,000 megawatts. An initial investment of $200 million for the wind energy projects is expected within the first two years.

The agreement also stated that the parties would plan the establishment of the first turnkey project, a 49.5-MW wind energy project composed of 33 units of 1.5-MW wind mills. The project would be operational within one year from the time of the establishment of the joint venture, Greenergy Holdings said.

The company, however, did not identify the potential sites for the wind power projects.

According to the MOA, the parties may also consider other renewable projects such as biomass, solar, hydro and geothermal energy, but the priority for the first two years of joint-venture vehicle shall be wind energy projects.

Over the next 20 years, the Department of Energy is expecting over a trillion pesos worth of investments being poured in the renewable energy sector. These investments will see the construction of renewable energy facilities harnessing either biomass, solar, hydro, ocean or wind, which can generate a combined 9.865.3 megawatts by 2030.

The government, however, has yet to issue the much-awaited final feed-in-tariff rates for each renewable energy resource as these will enable investors to determine whether their projects are economically viable. Other mechanisms and incentives, as specified under the Renewable Energy Law, remained pending to date.