October 25, 2019 | 12:08 am By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-Editor
BASIC Energy Corp. plans to set up a
wind farm in Luzon in partnership with a foreign entity, said its top official,
who described the proposal to be in the initial stage although a letter of
interest has been submitted to the Energy department.
“Ang (The) estimation is
anywhere from 40 to 50 megawatts (MW),” Oscar L. de Venecia, Jr., president and
chief executive officer of Basic Energy, told reporters after the company’s
annual stockholders’ meeting in Makati City.
He declined to disclose the specific
location of the project although the company has existing exploration sites in
Luzon, including a geothermal energy project in Batangas that stands on a hilly
location in the province.
“Next step is we attend to all the
different meetings with the Department of Energy,” Mr. De Venecia said. “Then,
we sit down with them and start negotiating the terms and conditions.”
The filing of application for a
service contract will be up to the company to decide, he added.
Asked about what prompted the
company to consider a wind energy project, he said the industry is “a little
more stable” than solar energy at this time, with a “little less participants,
and less competition.”
Mr. De Venecia said the decision to
consider wind energy was also brought about by the declining cost of such
projects.
“It’s of course [because] cost and
equipment and materials are going down also. It’s also that the towers are
improving,” he said.
He placed the cost of putting up a
megawatt of wind energy at $1.5 million, although he declined to give an
estimate of the total project cost.
The decline in cost and the
improvement in the efficiency of wind towers mean putting up the same facility
translates into more energy output.
“Whereas before, you’re looking at
one mast and do 2 to 3 MW. Now, you’re looking at 4 to 5 MW,” he said. “If you
break it down, if you’re looking at a 5-MW mast and it’s a 40 to 50 MW, we’re
looking at around nine to 10 masts.”
Mr. De Venecia said the wind project
is still with the company’s business development group, and has not yet been
elevated to Basic Energy’s management for final decision.
“They’re still evaluating whether
the data that we have right now and the forecasts for the project will merit us
proceeding to apply for a service contract,” he said. “We still also have to
talk to our partners.”
Funding for the project will depend
on the agreed ownership structure with the foreign partner, which the official
declined to identify, although the local company wants a majority stake of at
least 60%, he said.
On Thursday, shares in Basic Energy
slipped by 7.41% to P0.25 each.
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