Business Mirror by Lenie Lectura - November 12, 2014
THE Department of Energy (DOE) has endorsed the largest wind farm in the country as an eligible project fit to avail itself of the feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme.
A Certificate of Endorsement (COE) for FIT Eligibility for the 150-megawatt (MW) Burgos wind-power project of the Energy Development Corp. (EDC) was issued by the DOE on Wednesday.
The listed firm said that EDC Burgos Wind Power Corp., an affiliate of EDC, received the DOE’s COE for FIT Eligibility endorsing the power project “for the purpose of qualifying the project under the FIT system.”
The FIT scheme, as provided under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, guarantees long-term contracts and returns for renewable-energy firms through fixed rates to be shouldered by consumers who will start paying a new line item in their monthly power bills starting January 2015.
The scheme covers run-of-river hydropower, biomass, wind and solar-power generation. EDC’s wind farm consists of 50 large-scale Vestas V90-3.0MW wind turbines and ancillary plant to be supplied and constructed by Vestas, the world’s leading wind-turbine manufacturer. Aside from the wind farm, the project also includes a 115 kilovolts transmission line connecting the wind farm from the Burgos substation to the Laoag substation of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, as well as the expansion of the switchyard/substations.
The company aims to be the first wind project to avail itself of the FIT which the DOE will grant to 200 MW of wind projects on a “first to commission, first served basis.” Its entire electrical output is intended to be sold under the FIT system.
Meanwhile, the EDC reported the other day that profit shot up by 94 percent to P10.4 billion at end-September this year, as against the P5.3 billion in the same period a year ago on account of higher revenues. “The movement was mainly driven by the P3.2-billion increase in revenues and supplemented by the P1.8-billion net recovery of impairment of NNGP [Northern Negros Geothermal Plant] transferred to and installed in Nasulo,” EDC said.
“Going forward, we will focus on reaping the fruits of this year’s growth projects delivered and using that to fund future growth and dividends,” said Richard Tantoco, EDC president and chief operating officer. In September EDC switched on its 49-MW Nasulo geothermal plant in Negros Oriental. EDC’s revenues stood at P23 billion, up by 16 percent.
“The improvement was principally driven by the P2.1-billion contribution from the start of operations of the Bacman power plants. The successful commissioning of the Nasulo power plant generated P500 million in fresh revenues for the company,” it said. source
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