Aboitiz Power Corporation has announced its first foray into the wind energy business by building a 90-megawatt onshore wind project in Libmanan, Camarines Sur to ramp up the province’s utilization of indigenous energy sources.
Aboitiz Power said its subsidiary Aboitiz Renewables Inc. will undertake the project through a joint venture agreement with global renewable energy company Mainstream Renewable Power.
Although still subject to regulatory approvals, ARI proposed to acquire a 60 percent stake in the Libmanan onshore wind project, which Mainstream has been developing since 2017.
First foray
“This joint venture marks AboitizPower’s first foray into wind energy and underscores our aspiration to be a strong renewable energy partner,” AboitizPower president and chief executive officer Emmanuel V. Rubio said on Tuesday.
As one of the pioneers of RE development in the country, Rubio pointed out that its involvement in the project will help the company to achieve its goal of expanding its renewable portfolio to 4,600 MW by the end of the decade.
The Philippines is one of the priority markets of Dublin-based Mainstream in the region.
Working in partnership
According to its CEO Mary Quaney, the company is “committed to working in partnership with AboitizPower to support the country’s ambitious and commendable target to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2030.”
“We are delighted to be entering this joint venture with AboitizPower to deliver our first wind farm in the Philippines,” she said.
With Aboitiz Power’s local expertise and Mainstream’s specialty in clean energy development, the project is expected to become a top contributor to the country’s drive to increase the utilization of indigenous energy sources like wind and solar.
Early this month, the Department of Energy approved an increase in the yearly renewable portfolio standards from 1 percent to 2.5 percent. The target is to achieve a 35 percent RE share of the total generation mix by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.