More Renewable Energy Projects In The Philippines Pop Up As Conglomerates Jump In
PetroGreen Energy Corp (PGEC), part of one of the Philippines’ largest business conglomerates, the Yuchengco Group of Companies, has announced its acquisition of two solar projects in Luzon, which will contribute an additional 60 megawatts (MW) of capacity to the company’s renewable energy portfolio.
PGEC, established in 2010, oversees PetroEnergy Resources Corporation’s renewable projects, including the 32 MW Maibarara geothermal project of Maibarara Geothermal Inc., the 70 MW Tarlac solar project of PetroSolar Corp, and the 36 MW Nabas-1 wind project of PetroWind Energy Inc.
In a recent disclosure to Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), PetroGreen revealed its acquisition of the San Jose solar project in the Nueva Ecija province and the San Pablo solar project in the Isabela province. The company signed separate term sheets for these acquisitions with VMars Solar Energy Corp and BKS Green Energy Corp on April 19.
The transaction rolled off May 18 and is expected to be completed “in the next few weeks,” according to Louie Mark Limcolioc, Assistant Vice President for Legal and Corporate Affairs at PetroGreen.
The San Jose solar project covers 17.1 hectares (42 acres) of land, while the San Pablo project spans 29.8 hectares (79.6 acres). Both projects are expected to be fully operational by 2025 and are located in the north of the Philippines, where there is enough sunlight to generate an average of 4.5–5 kWh per square meter per day, according to the Philippine Department of Energy (DoE).
PetroGreen currently operates the Tarlac-1 and Tarlac-2 solar power facilities in Central Technopark, Tarlac City, with capacities of 50 MW and 20 MW, respectively, through its subsidiary PetroSolar Corp. Additionally, the company is developing the Dagohoy solar project in Bohol province, with a capacity of 27 MW, and the Bugallon solar project in Pangasinan province, with a capacity of 25 MW.
Last January, Kyuden International Corp (KIC) joined PGEC, leading to a dilution of shares for existing stockholders of PetroEnergy Resources Corp (PERC) and EEI Power Corp (EEI Power). PERC’s stake in PGEC dropped to 67.5% from 90%, while EEI Power’s interest decreased to 7.5% from 10%.
KIC, a Japanese enterprise known for its involvement in developing independent power producers (IPPs), transmission infrastructure, and consulting businesses globally, expressed its focus on the growing Asian market and expanding into other energy sectors abroad.
In February of this year, PetroWind Energy Inc. (PWEI) secured a loan agreement worth P1.8 billion ($17.9 million) from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) for the development and construction of its Nabas-2 Wind Power Project (Nabas-2), with a capacity of 13.2 MW.
The 15-year loan will be utilized for various infrastructure components, including the supply and installation of wind turbine generators, construction of a temporary jetty, internal access roads, and the establishment of a new substation and switching station.
PWEI, as the developer and operator of the 36 MW Nabas-1 Wind Power Project, has been supplying clean power to the Visayas grid since June 2015. Like PGEC, EEI Power is also an affiliate of the Yuchengco Group of Companies, and BCPG Wind Cooperatief U.A. is an affiliate of BCPG Public Company Limited from Thailand.
Recently, PWEI secured the Visayas wind allocation Nabas-2, with a capacity of 13.2 MW, through the Philippine Department of Energy’s (DOE) first-ever Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP).
“The San Jose project covers 17.1 hectares while the San Pablo service contract encompasses 29.8 hectares. Thus, together the two projects can add as much as ~60MWcapacity to PGEC’s solar portfolio when they are fully operational which we target by 2025,” added PGEC VP for Commercial Operations Maria Victoria M. Olivar.
PetroEnergy, the parent company of PetroGreen, reported a 30% growth in earnings last year, reaching P863 million, thanks to strong oil revenues and significant returns from the Etame consortium in Gabon, West Africa, in which it holds a 2.53% participating interest.
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