Foreign investors keen on Mindanao’s ocean energy
BY LENIE LECTURA – SEPTEMBER 14, 2022
from Business Mirror
OceanPixel Pte Ltd. of Singapore and Australia’s Altum Green Energy Operations (AGEO) are keen on investing in ocean energy in Mindanao.
The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), OceanPixel, and AGEO signed a Memorandum of Understanding last week to promote and accelerate blue economy and green energy in Mindanao.
“We signed an agreement with a Singapore-based company, supported by Australian technology for an ocean turbine technology. It could be tried in our island provinces,” said MinDa Deputy Executive Director Romeo Montenegro.
MinDa said the partnership is one of the results of last month’s Mindanao Business Mission to Singapore. MinDA will work closely with its local counterparts and development partners to facilitate entry and implementation of this pioneer renewable energy development project in Mindanao, particularly in the island provinces.
OceanPixel is a Singapore-based sustainability expert company engaged in blue economy, renewables, and green initiatives.
AGEO is an Australian-based marine renewable energy technology developer that specializes in hydrokinetic turbines capable of producing clean and predictable electricity from flowing water.
Mindanao is expecting 10,200 megawatts of additional capacity by 2040. This will come from baseload (6,300MW), mid-merit (3,200), and peaking 700MW.
RE portfolio
Meanwhile, Juxtapose Ergo Consultus Inc., (JECI), the managing and consulting firm for Palm Concepcion Power Corp. (PCPC) and Peakpower Energy Inc. (PEI), said Tuesday it will add renewable energy (RE) in its portfolio to achieve its target of 800 megawatts (MW) power generation capacity by 2030.
PCPC is the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the 135-megawatt (MW) Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion Power Plant in Iloilo. PEI operates three diesel-fired power plants, with a combined 55MW of capacity, in Mindanao.
With a combined 190MW capacity, JECI said its power plants provide “competitive and reliable” power to the areas they serve.
“As we forge ahead to a brighter and greener future, we seek to provide more sustainable solutions by setting the future direction of the company with focus areas on renewable energy technologies, off-grid, and Small Power Utilities Group power supplies,” said Nicandro Fucoy, President of PCPC and PEI said.
JECI said it is exploring RE projects that are competitive in the market. It also intends to establish other niche markets such as off-grid and embedded generation. Fucoy said that JECI will use its “experience in developing and operating power facilities” to achieve this 2030 target of 800MW.
“We may be small but we are determined to grow our generation assets, and more so, our people are motivated in our mission to power the powerless.”
JECI identified three strategic drivers—sustain operational efficiencies; integrate people, processes, and systems; and expand business portfolios—to achieve its goal.
