The Yuchengco Group of Companies’ (YGC) PetroWind Energy Inc. (PWEI) was recognized as one of Top Community Care Companies in the 2020 Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability Awards (ACES) based in Kuala Lumpur.
ACES Awards honor individuals and firms in Asia for corporate leadership and corporate social responsibility under several categories – sustainability, green initiative, green innovation, and community care, among others.
ACES described PWEI as among those Asian companies who “have enriched the communities through various outreach initiatives and which epitomize the mission and values of an organization that…demonstrate exemplary active citizenship in promoting the wellbeing of society at large.”
PWEI is a joint-venture of PetroGreen Energy Corp. (40%) and EEI Power Corp.(20%) of the Philippines and BCPG Public Company Ltd. (40%) of Thailand. PetroGreen is the renewable energy holding unit of publicly-listed PetroEnergy Resources Corp. (PERC).
PWEI operates the 36 MW Nabas-1 wind power facility in Aklan, the largest source of indigenous, clean, and renewable energy-based electricity in the province which has been supplying power to the Visayas grid since commercial operations in June 2015.
The Nabas wind power facility has also become an important eco-tourism destination in the region, being perched on the hills of Nabas and Malay, across and overlooking Boracay island.
PetroGreen Environmental and Community Relations Manager Yrel Ventura declared, “This award honors the commitment of the YGC and our Partners to uplift the communities where we operate and also testifies to the successful collaboration we have forged with the local governments and communities in several health, education, and livelihood initiatives. This will spur us to scale up our efforts to benefit more stakeholders and to ensure positive long-lasting impact.”
PWEI’s planned investment and expansion of the facility to add a 14 MW Nabas-2 unit received further boost when the Department of Energy (DOE) issued the Amended Certificate of Commerciality for the project on May 13, 2020, allowing it to proceed to development and operations.
“Actual development of the project had to be paced due to the Covid-19 pandemic but when resumed it is expected to generate additional employment during construction, add to the LGUs tax and royalty base, and stimulate business from local suppliers. We intend to have Nabas-2 operational by 2022, in time for the completion of the National Grid Corp. of the Phil.’s (NGCP) Cebu-Negros-Panay interconnection improvements,“ added Paul Elmer Morala, PetroGreen AVP for Power Operations. – BusinessNewsAsia.com