ALTER-NERGY Holdings Corp. has begun delivering electricity to the Luzon grid from its P6.7-billion Alabat wind farm in Quezon province, with the first three turbines generating power ahead of full commercial operations.

The company announced on Tuesday that it had energized the 64-megawatt (MW) wind power project, allowing the initial turbines to produce electricity and earn pre-commissioning revenue — the income a facility books while it runs on the grid during the testing phase that precedes commercial operations.

The wind farm consists of eight 8-MW turbines, which Alternergy described as the largest installed in Southeast Asia outside China. Once fully operational, the facility is expected to generate approximately 202 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity annually, enough to supply an estimated 218,500 households, while avoiding around 150,541 metric tons of carbon emissions each year. That expected output lands amid the Philippine government's push to lift renewables to 35% of the country's power generation mix by 2030 and 50% by 2040, adding another utility-scale wind resource to the Luzon grid as that national target approaches.

Electricity from the plant is delivered through a 37-kilometer, 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission line connected to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines' (NGCP) Gumaca-Lopez (Hondagua) 69-kV transmission line. The infrastructure includes a 1.4-kilometer overhead sea-crossing link between Alabat Island and the Luzon mainland, which the company described as the first of its kind for a wind power project in the Philippines — the physical connection that carries the island site's output to the main grid.

Alternergy noted that the initial energization coincided with the onset of the northeast monsoon, locally known as Amihan, which brings favorable wind conditions for power generation.

"With the Alabat Wind Farm now energized and generating electricity, our focus is on completing the remaining testing and commissioning activities needed to bring Alabat into commercial operations," Alternergy President Gerry P. Magbanua said in a statement.

"This milestone brings us closer to transforming our investment in the project into operating capacity, recurring revenue, and additional clean energy for the Luzon grid," he added.

The company has yet to announce a commercial operation date for the project, making the remaining testing and commissioning milestones the near-term markers to watch as Alabat moves from first power toward full operations.

Together with the 128-MW Tanay Wind Power Project in Rizal, the Alabat facility is expected to raise Alternergy's operating capacity to approximately 311 MW by the end of 2026 from 119 MW — more than a doubling of its current fleet. In July, the company completed a P2.3-billion investment agreement with A Brown Company, Inc., through its energy investment arm ABC Energy, Inc., covering a 40% stake in each of the Alabat and Tanay wind projects.

Alternergy is targeting a renewable energy portfolio of 1,000 MW by 2030 under its Triple Play Portfolio strategy, which spans wind, solar, and run-of-river hydropower projects.

On Tuesday, Alternergy shares rose 3.17% to close at P0.65 apiece. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera