Aboitiz unit plans ₱8.4-billion wind power plant in Ilocos Norte
Aboitiz Power Corp.’s renewable energy arm plans to build a ₱8.4 billion wind farm in Ilocos Norte, expanding its clean energy footprint as the government pushes to transition away from fossil fuels.
Based on documents submitted to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Environmental Management Bureau, Luzon Cleanergy Generation Inc., a unit of Aboitiz Renewables Inc., proposed the construction of a 136-megawatt renewable facility in Bangui, Ilocos Norte.
The project will cover 3,321 hectares across eight villages, including Payac, Bacsil, Malasin, Abaca, Nagbalagan, Masikil, Manayon, and San Lorenzo.
The capital expenditure will fund preliminary studies, permitting, licensing, site preparation, environmental mitigation works, and the construction of main power components and support infrastructure.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2029, with commercial operations targeted for the second quarter of 2031.
The project aims to augment the demand for reliable and affordable power supply while contributing to national development and households, Luzon Cleanergy said in the filing. The company added that the proposal aligns with the country’s renewable energy transition, which targets boosting the share of clean energy in the national power mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
The developer secured a 25-year wind energy service contract for the site in September 2023. As part of the regulatory approval process, a public scoping session is scheduled for July 22 to present the project overview to the host communities.
Parent firm Aboitiz Renewables is pursuing an aggressive expansion strategy to achieve 4,600 megawatts of clean energy capacity by 2030. Its current asset portfolio includes solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal technologies.
The company recently completed a 92.55-megawatt peak solar plant in Pangasinan, its third solar development in that province, which will feed electricity directly into the Luzon grid.