Jan 20 2011
Subic Wind Power Generation (SWPGI) is planning to invest $125 million for expanding its Freeport renewable energy project.
Feliciano Salonga, Chairman of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), stated that Subic Agency had given approval for the expansion program of SWPGI, which would include both establishing and operating a solar energy project along with the original wind farm establishment.
SWPGI, a subsidiary company of Sunnew Investments, a China-based company, had invested $75 million in 2010 for establishing a 50 MW wind farm with 25 turbines. Salonga mentioned that after preliminary studies were done and ocular surveys were made, the company decided to add a solar energy project yielding 100-200 MW of solar energy. The project would now be valued at $125 million encompassing 300 hectares of land at Mount Sta. Rita and Redondo Peninsula in Subic and generate around 150-200 MW of power, employing 150 workers. It would fetch an amount of $816,000 as annual lease rentals for SBMA.
According to Salonga, this project would also steady the power supply to the Luzon grid. So far Subic has only been a power consumer and now it would become a power producer. He also stated that as both the projects were clean energy projects they would decrease the Subic Bay Freeport’s carbon footprint. Furthermore, the projects would also put Subic as a renewable energy system pioneer backed by the Sunnew and Red Blades Windek Holdings.