Nickel Asia infusing add’l P660 M into EPI for projects

Listed miner Nickel Asia Corp. has cleared additional funding to subsidiary Emerging Power Inc. (EPI) to complete 105 megawatts (MW) of projects this year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, Nickel Asia said its board approved an additional equity contribution of P660 million to EPI and a P1.5 billion, three-year loan which it will provide. EPI is 66-percent owned by Nickel Asia.

The firm said these funds, together with bank financing at the project company level, will complete EPI projects of 105 MW lined up for 2016.

“We have gained a lot of momentum in the past year especially in our Subic project and also in the other areas. EPI is determined to develop all of these clean energy projects in the soonest possible time,” Nickel Asia president and CEO Gerard Brimo said.

EPI, through wholly owned subsidiary Jobin-SQM Inc. (JSI), is working on a 100-MW solar farm project at the Subic Bay Freeport, expected to cost close to P8 billion.

Recently, JSI recently energized the first phase of the solar project, comprising seven MW of solar power, which is expected to start trading electricity this week.

Nickel Asia said the balance of 93 MW is targeted for completion this year.

The JSI RE service contract also includes a 50-MW wind farm, which is scheduled for development in 2017.

Nickel Asia said the additional funds will also be used for the development of the first geothermal power plant with a capacity of 5-MW under its 60-percent-owned subsidiary Biliran Geothermal Inc. (BGI).

The total geothermal project cost is estimated at about P800 million.

Seven holes have previously been drilled in the Biliran geothermal field by its

40 percent partner in BGI, all of which exhibit the required temperatures for the production of geothermal power.

The development of additional plants and required infrastructure, as well as further drilling of this potentially large geothermal field, is currently under study.