The Asian Development Bank has signed a financing assignment agreement of up to US$20 million to support the development of a 150-mgawatt wind farm in the Philippines.
ADB signed the deal with the developer EDC Burgos Wind Power Corp., Eksport Kredit Fonden, and a syndicate of international commercial banks, including a syndicate of local commercial banks who have provided local currency debt.
“This Burgos wind farm is a major contributor to the government’s drive to scale up renewable energy use and to reduce its reliance on coal and petroleum for power generation,” said Christopher Thieme, Director of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department. “The operation of this farm will avoid the production of over 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions a year, making it a sustainable energy source for the country.”
The Burgos wind farm, which is situated in the northern province of Ilocos Norte on the main island of Luzon, was completed in November 2014 and is owned and operated by the EBWPC. This special purpose company is controlled by Energy Development Corp., a publicly-listed firm which is the largest geothermal energy producer in the Philippines and the largest integrated steam and geothermal energy producer in the world today.
ADB said it decided to invest in the project because of EDC’s successful track record in financing, constructing, owning and operating renewable energy projects in the Philippines, as well as the high potential for energy generation at the target site in Ilocos Norte, and the contribution the farm will make to the government’s drive to diversify its fuel mix and to meet rising power demand without the use of fossil fuel generation plants.
