Mainstream awarded two wind energy deals

GLOBAL energy firm Mainstream Renewable Power has been awarded 25-year contracts for the development of two onshore wind projects in the provinces of Cagayan in Luzon and Leyte in the Visayas.

The projects — the 100-megawatt (MW) Santa Ana Cagayan project and the 340-MW Panaon project on Panaon Island — will be Mainstream’s first wholly owned onshore wind service contracts in the Philippines, the Energy department said during the weekend.

It added that Mainstream was one of the first 100-percent foreign-owned companies granted a contract to develop the country’s indigenous and renewable energy sources.

“With the Philippine economy now thriving, marked by good growth and optimistic forecasts, we are pleased with the positive response of foreign and local investors to pour in capital in our country’s renewable energy sources,” Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.

“Mainstream will be bringing in financial muscle and technological heft to work with our world-class workers throughout the construction and operational phases of all these projects, which means more employment for our people and livelihood opportunities in these areas,” he added.

Mainstream, which describes itself as a “pure-play renewable energy company, with wind and solar assets across global markets, including in Latin America, Africa and Asia-Pacific,” has been operating in the Philippines since 2017 and has an existing partnership with Aboitiz Power Corp. to develop a 90-MW onshore wind project in Camarines Sur.

“The awards of these contracts represent an important milestone for Mainstream as we continue to grow our development footprint across the Philippines,” Mainstream General Manager for AsiaPacific Eduardo Karlin said.

“We are committed to the Philippine market and well-placed to be part of the country’s energy transition and assist the government in reaching their targets of 35 percent renewable energy by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050,” he added.

Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines Christian Lyster said he was pleased to see Mainstream taking advantage of the government’s efforts to create conducive conditions for renewable energy development in the Philippines and said that Norway remained a committed partner to the Philippines in its shift to renewable energy.

Norway’s Aker Horizons controls Ireland-based Mainstream.

The Energy department to date has issued 21 wind energy service contracts — four offshore and 17 onshore — to foreign-owned companies or developers.