NexGen unit bags $2.5-B worth of wind energy deals
A unit of NexGen Energy Corp. has secured three new wind energy concessions from the Department of Energy, covering a combined capacity of 1.7 gigawatts (GW) with an estimated investment cost of $2.5 billion.
The wind farm contracts, bagged through wholly owned subsidiary Airstream Renewables Corp. (ARC), cover three onshore wind projects: 600 megawatts (MW) in Pangasinan, 600 MW in Samar and 500 MW in Nueva Ecija.
In a statement on Monday, NexGen described the wind energy deals as “a major step forward” in its growth strategy, saying these would “materially strengthen our development pipeline.”
According to the company’s disclosure, the Pangasinan project alone will span roughly 13,770 hectares. It will link to the grid via an 8-kilometer 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line to the 230-kV Labrador Substation of electricity superhighway operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
The Samar wind farm covers about 16,929 hectares and will connect via a 7-km 138 kV line to the NGCP 138 kV Victoria Substation.
The Nueva Ecija venture, in turn, will occupy some 9,234 hectares and connect through a 15-km 230-kV line to the 230-kV Sampaloc Substation of NGCP.
Investment cost
The firm estimates the combined investment to run into the ballpark of $2.5 billion.
As disclosed in its 2024 prospectus, NexGen Energy and its subsidiaries, which include ARC, maintain an overall pipeline of more than 1,330 MW of onshore and offshore wind projects, alongside a growing roster of solar initiatives.
In recent months, NexGen Energy has also pushed forward with regulatory and permitting milestones.
ARC earlier secured “Green Lane” status from the Board of Investments for several planned wind farms in Quezon province. Such status allows accelerated approval processes for strategic energy investments.
With the new 1.7-GW onshore wind deal, analysts say NexGen is positioning itself to become one of the country’s major large-scale wind developers.
If completed as scheduled and connected to the grid, the projects are seen to support the government’s targets for expanding clean power generation.
