Reinero Medrano, manager of EDC Corporate Social Responsibility, made presentation on the wind farm project in Camiguin at the municipal council session
Mahinog, Camiguin – The Municipal Council of Mahinog recently endorsed the Lopez-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC) application to put up a wind farm in Camiguin particularly in Lowan hills in barangay Owakan in the town of Mahinog. In February last year, the Dept. of Energy (DOE) approved a Wind Energy Service Contract (WESC) to the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) for the Camiguin Wind Project.
EDC is Philippine’s leading geothermal energy provider, accounting for 62% of the country’s installed geothermal capacity.
It operates 5 geothermal sites in Leyte, Bicol, Cotabato, Northern Negros and Southern Negros, including the Pantabangan-Masiway hydro power complex in Nueva Ecija.
When completed the wind farm project in Camiguin is expected to generate more than 15 Megawatts of energy, Reinero Medrano, EDC Corporate Social Responsibility Program Officer, said on Monday during the SB session.
It will augment the supply of power in Camiguin, or even sell its power excess to the mainland, he added.
“This project will harness the power of the wind in Camiguin to generate clean and renewable electricity and will establish Camiguin as one of the wind energy sites in the Philippines,” Medrano said.
He added, however, that as of now, an additional wind data gathering must be conducted at the site to validate the wind potential at a height ranging from 60 –84 meters.
A wind mast to be installed is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2012 and is expected to be complete after at least 2 to 4 weeks, Medrano disclosed.
The data gathering phase will begin immediately after the masts are installed, he added.
The project has 3 phases which include: 1) Wind data gathering; 2) Development, construction & installation of wind farm, substation facilities and power transmission line and its associated interconnection facilities; 3) Operations and maintenance of wind farm, substation facilities and power transmission line and its associated interconnection facilities.
To date, the country's first wind project and the biggest wind farm in Southeast Asia is the 33-MW wind farm of NorthWind Power Development Corp. located in Bangui, Ilocos Norte.
Wow! This is truly great news! Not only will this project bring stability to the electricity supply in Camiguin, but will also put Camiguin on the renewable energy map, decrease electricity rates, and possibly drive up tourism. Hope this is built soon!
ReplyDeleteIt will bring renewable energy to the grid yes, but because the grid itself is weak (just one link to Mindanao mainland), it could sometimes even destabilize it (if too much change of wind speed occurs). Also, note that the feed-in-tariff for wind ( 10 Peso/kWh) is much higher than the grid rate of slightly under 3 Peso/kWh).
ReplyDeleteStill a good thing though, provided one wants to pay for it!