Norwegian firm to invest billions in PH wind projects
By Alena Mae S. Flores October 16, 2022, 7:10 pm
from manilastandar.net
A Norwegian company will invest billions of dollars to build 2,400 megawatts of onshore and offshore wind projects in the Philippines as it expands its renewable energy presence over the long term, a top executive said over the weekend.
“We have five sites. One is onshore wind; the rest are offshore. (A total of) 2.4 gigawatts wind licenses we have in the Philippines,” Scatec general manager for Southeast Asia Torbjorn Elliot Kirkeby-Garstad said during the Norway-Philippines Maritime & Energy Conference.
He said the projects would require “billions of dollars” to build.
“This will be in partnership with a Filipino company regardless of the change of Foreign Ownership Law. We are not doing this alone. This will be with a local partner,” Garstad said.
He said Aboitiz Power Corp. is an “obvious choice” as a partner for the wind projects, as it is a part of SN Aboitiz Power Corp. Scatec completed the acquisition of SN Power, also a Norwegian firm, in January 2021.
“The plan is to do those projects together with [a partner]. My preference is with Aboitiz, having worked with them for 15 years,” Garstad said.
“We are a partnership with them, and we are discussing growth opportunities also through SNAP,” he said.
Garstad said Scatec started preparations for the wind projects’ development, such as installing wind masts.
“We want to make sure that with months and hopefully years of wind data, that becomes a robust platform on how to take this project forward,” Garstad said.
The joint venture company owned by Scatec and Aboitiz Power is the largest private hydropower company in the country, with 642 megawatts in operation.
SNAP’s power generation portfolio includes the 388-MW Magat hydro in Ifugao, 140-MW Binga hydro in Benguet, 105-MW Ambuklao hydro in Benguet, 8.5-MW Maris hydro in Ramon, Isabela, and the 20-MW Magat battery energy storage system.
The construction of the Magat BESS project, also located in Ramon, Isabela, is ongoing, with commercial operations targeted in the first half of 2024, including testing and commissioning.
The joint venture company is also studying a 67-MW floating solar project after completing the 200-kilowatt Magat floating solar pilot project.
SNAP is also looking at developing the Alimit hydro project in Ifugao province, which will be implemented in phases, including a 250-MW pumped storage facility.
Scatec acquired 100 percent of the shares in SN Power from Norfund for a total equity value of $ 1.166 billion in 2021.
