PetroGreen Energy bags contract to develop wind project in Palawan

The Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Yuchengco-led PetroGreen Energy Corp. (PGEC) a contract to develop a wind project in Palawan.

The San Vicente (Palawan) wind energy service contract was recently received by PGEC.

The service contract grants PGEC the rights and responsibilities to harness wind energy and develop and operate the corresponding renewable energy facility in San Vicente, Palawan.

PGEC deputy chief operating officer Maria Victoria Olivar said the company would now conduct feasibility studies for the project.

“With the award of the service contract, we will proceed with our feasibility studies to ascertain the commercial viability of the block,” she said.

“The eco-tourism growth in San Vicente and adjoining towns, the lack of reliable power supply, and the strong support by the provincial and municipal governments for environment-friendly energy facilities drive our decision to invest in San Vicente, Palawan,“Olivar said.

The new wind prospect will help boost the renewable energy portfolio of publicly-listed PetroEnergy Resources Corp. (PERC), a member of the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC).

PGEC is the renewable energy holding unit of PERC.

“This new project is part of our goal of increasing PGEC’s renewable energy capacities through deliberate expansion in selected regions of the country,” PERC president Milagros Reyes said.

We recognize that this is a long-term commitment and we are excited to start working with the DOE, the Palawan local governments, and other government agencies in bringing green, indigenous, and renewable energy supply to San Vicente through wind power or windhybrid power systems,” she said.

PGEC power facilities include the 32-megawatt (MW) Maibarara geothermal plant in Sto. Tomas, Batangas by Maibarara Geothermal Inc., the 36-MW Nabas-1 wind farm operated by PetroWind Energy Inc., and the 70-MW Tarlac solar project in Tarlac City under PetroSolar Corp.

It also plans a hybrid solar power project in Palawan, with a capacity of 10 to 20 MW once the island’s power coop commences its competitive selection process.

Originally, PERC’s business is petroleum exploration and production.

PERC, along with US partner Vaalco Inc., secured the Etame offshore oil block in Gabon, West Africa in 1995. It made an oil discovery in the block in 1998 and started commercial oil production in 2002.