ACEN Corporation, the renewable energy-focused enterprise of the Ayala Group, has expressed great optimism on the potential of the so-called northern loop, more particularly its capacity to harness wind power.
“There’s still quite a bit of onshore wind opportunities but I think the bigger opportunity is offshore and the one constraint that needs to be addressed is transmission. The much talked about northern loop is going to be critical to really unlock the potential of the remaining onshore and of course, offshore wind in Ilocos,” said Eric Francia, ACEN president and chief executive officer at the launching of the initial 80 megawatt (MW) wind project in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte last Friday.
“Hopefully, this is in the transmission development plans really to make the Northern Loop happen and build it in such a way that it will harness the potential here in Ilocos Norte,” Francia added.
Based on the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ 20-year transmission development plan, the implementation of the Northern Luzon 230 kilovolt loop “will provide the needed transmission capacity augmentation.”
The project is part of Luzon transmission project eyed for completion from 2022 to 2025.
Francia also said the 80 MW Pagudpud wind project is seen boosted to 135 MW by the end of the year and ultimately generate 160 MW by 2025. The endeavor is among wind power projects qualified to receive incentives under the first Green Energy Auction (GEA-1) program of the government.
The P11.8 billion project is the country’s biggest wind farm when it hits full capacity, enough to power 123,875 homes and save approximately 344,600 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere annually.
Pagudpud is ACEN’s third wind development in Ilocos Norte, following the 52 MW NorthWind project in Bangui and the 81 MW North Luzon Renewables project also in Pagudpud.
Francia said a fourth wind farm with a spot in the GEA-1, the 70 MW Capa wind project also in Pagudpud, is also set for completion by end-2025.
ACEN owns the largest wind portfolio in the country at 416 MW, of which 266 MW already in operation with 150 MW still under construction.
ACEN also operates in Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Lao PDR and the United States.
The ACEN group now has more than 2,400 MW of projects under construction and looks to own 20,000 MW worth of RE capacity by 2030.
