Wind energy in Philippines – Ayala buys stake in Ilocos wind farm

The development is in line with the conglomerate’s thrust of diversifying into the power and infrastructure businesses.

"Ayala Corp., through Michigan Power, Inc., a 100%-owned subsidiary, acquired a 50% effective stake in NorthWind Power Development Corp. (Northwind)," the country’s oldest conglomerate said in a disclosure on Thursday, declining to cite the purchase cost.

Northwind owns and operates the 33-megawatt wind farm in Bangui Bay in Ilocos Norte. The wind power project, the first commercial wind farm in Southeast Asia, has 20 wind turbines.

"This is part of Ayala Corp.’s initiative to enter the power sector and comes after the company’s recent joint venture with Mitsubishi Corp. on solar power," the firm said.

"Our goal over the next five years is to build a portfolio of power generation assets of over 1,000 megawatts, which include both renewable and traditional forms of energy sources," Fernando Zobel de Ayala, president and chief operating officer of Ayala Corp., said in the same disclosure.

"We believe there are opportunities to make early stage investments in the renewable energy space, which may have the potential to grow over time given the need to develop alternative sources of energy," he added.

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