German wind and solar developer WPD is adding another project to its pipeline in the Philippines. The project, located in Aklan Province in Western Visayas, is an onshore wind farm with a total capacity of 75.6 MW. Triconti ECC Renewables Corporation, a German-Swiss-Filipino joint venture based in the Philippines, is involved in the project planning and implementation as a cooperation partner.

The wind farm will consist of 18 Vestas V136 turbines with a capacity of 4.2 MW each. The hilly site is located on the north-western tip of Panay Island, at an altitude of between 123 metres and 362 metres above sea level. At the current planning stage, commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2023.

The project is part of a large-scale grid reinforcement and expansion for the islands of Cebu, Negros and Panay, called the CNP Backbone Extension. The wind farm will be connected to the grid via a new substation, which is being built by WPD and Triconti for the grid operator NGCP. The project partners are currently in talks to market the electricity generated by the wind farm locally via a power purchase agreement.

“We are pleased to add Aklan to our pipeline, as another important project as part of our Asia strategy,” says Niclas Fritsch, chief executive officer of WPD Philippines Inc. “We continue to position ourselves in the dynamic and exciting Philippine renewable energy market and are pleased to have Triconti ECC as a reliable and experienced partner in this endeavour.”

“We have been active in the Philippine market for a long time, and continuously invest in local project development," adds Stefan Simon, managing director of the Swiss Stream Invest Holding AG, the main shareholder of the project developer Triconti.

Bremen, Germany-based WPD is also active in other markets in Asia, including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia, Indonesia and India. In addition to onshore and offshore wind, the company also has a growing pipeline of solar projects in the region.