Basic Energy slates P4.5-B Batangas wind project construction

Once operational, the Mabini Wind Power Project is expected to contribute at least 50 megawatts of clean energy to the national grid

Basic Energy Corp. (BEC), chaired by businessman Ramon Villavicencio, and RENOVA Inc., a listed Japanese company, are eyeing to start the full-swing construction of the P4.5-billion Mabini Wind Power Project by 2026.

“We are progressing with different aspects of the study and we’re looking at around March 2026 as the date for what we call the Department of Energy’s declaration of commerciality and then sometime in May, we will be able to close the financing project,” BEC President Chito Poblete said in an interview on Wednesday.

Poblete said that project construction will commence only after the completion of all necessary feasibility studies, including the Wind Resource Assessment (WRA).

The completion of the WRA next month will allow for the selection of the most suitable Wind Turbine Generators for the project.

In November of 2022, BEC led the installation of a 120-meter Meteorological Mast in Barangay San Teodoro, Mabini. This was followed by the deployment of advanced LIDAR technology in Barangay Estrella, Mabini, in June of 2023.

BEC said these efforts are necessary to conduct a more thorough evaluation of the project’s potential and to estimate its annual energy production.

BEC, RENOVA alliance formalized

Yesterday, BEC and RENOVA formalized their alliance by signing the Joint Development and Shareholders Agreement (JDSHA) where they agreed to share equal equity (50:50) in Mabini Energy Corp. (MEC), which will be primarily responsible for managing the project.

In March 2021, MEC secured the Mabini Wind Energy Service Contract (WESC) from the Department of Energy, which granted the company the exclusive rights to explore, develop, and harness wind energy resources within the expansive 4,860-hectare contract area.

The Mabini WESC spans 25 years, including a five-year pre-development stage, with the potential for a 25-year extension.

Once operational, the Mabini Wind Power Project is expected to contribute at least 50 megawatts of clean energy to the national grid.

In 2023, the total installed on-grid capacity of wind power plants remained stagnant at 427 MW, taking up only a 1.5 percent share of the country’s total mix.

Off-grid, wind power capacity was unchanged at 16.560 MW since 2022, representing a 2.5 percent share of the total power ratio.