Alternergy sparks future of ‘energy tourism’

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March 15, 2026 | 12:00am

From watts to wonders

MANILA, Philippines — Make Alabat Island a tourist destination.

That is the vision of former energy secretary and now Alternergy Holdings Corp. chairman Vince Perez for the quiet fifth-class municipality in Quezon Province.

Atop mountains rising about 400 meters and facing the Pacific Ocean, a large-scale wind farm is taking shape — one that Perez believes will not only power communities but also spark curiosity among tourists.

With a total capacity of 64 megawatts (MW), the Alabat Wind Project uses innovative turbine designs built to withstand powerful winds and harsh conditions brought by typhoons.

For a country like the Philippines, which experiences an average of 20 tropical cyclones every year, such resilience is critical for capital-intensive wind projects.

Recently, Alternergy reached a major milestone in the Alabat project with the installation of the first eight-MW wind turbine generator (WTG), one of the largest of its kind in the world.

“We’re turning the geography of the Philippines to our advantage by tapping the wind energy resource from the Pacific Ocean,” Perez said in an interview with The STAR.

The WTG, supplied by Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Envision Energy, features a 182-meter rotor diameter, 105-meter hub height and 90-meter blade length, the longest ever in the Philippines.

To put it in perspective, the blade stretches almost the full length of an American football playing field.

“The name of the game is the longer the blade, the bigger the diameter and the circumference. And the bigger the circumference, the more energy the wind turbine makes,” Perez said.

In fact, with just one turbine, Alternergy will be capable of powering more than 24,800 households, he noted.

Once the wind turbine spins, the tips of its blades can reach 200 meters. This is equivalent to a 40-story building and roughly the same height as the AIA Tower and RCBC Plaza in Makati.

Given its size, however, installing the WTG was no easy feat. Alternergy had to overcome daunting challenges, from offshore logistics and inland transport to the installation itself.

“We had to use a special, large barge. It wasn’t easy, and that’s how we shipped it all the way from China to Alabat Island,” Perez recalled.

Even with these challenges, Alternergy remains committed to completing the project later this year as part of its commitment to the government.

As an indigenous resource, the wind output from the Alabat project is expected to help the Philippines reduce its heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas.

This comes at a timely moment, as the country faces a potential increase in power rates due to global price shocks caused by ongoing US-Israel war against Iran, which has triggered shockwaves across the Middle East. As of March 12 to 13, Dubai crude oil prices have been trading at approximately $113.55 to $123.06 per barrel due to the tensions.

Above all, Perez hopes the Quezon project’s towering turbines will not only strengthen the country’s energy security but also help elevate Alabat as a tourist destination.

“We call it energy tourism. There are no tourists who go to visit coal plants. But in a wind farm, you have a lot of visitors,” the former energy chief said.

As one of the fastest-growing renewable power developers in the country, Alternergy boasts a robust portfolio of wind, run-of-river hydro, solar, battery storage and offshore wind projects.

By 2030, the company aims to bring into commercial operations one gigawatt of green energy projects.