P2.6-B solar plant to rise in Ilocos Norte

By Teddy Molina 

LAOAG CITY– A P2.6-billion solar power plant will be constructed here by a Korean developer next year.

The Ilocos Norte government has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Mirae Asia Energy Corp. (MAEC) last year for the establishment of a 20-megawatt photovoltaic power plant in Currimao town.

Gov. Imee Marcos and MAEC officials led by its chief executive officer Bae Jong Soo presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the project in Barangay Paguludan recently. 

Lito Badua, MAEC vice president for engineering in Asia, said the plant would be built on sand dunes and cover an area of 60 hectares.

Badua said the solar plant would generate 30 million kilowatts of electricity per hour.

“It’s clean. There’s no emission at all and since we’re not using fuel, it’s relatively cheap,” he said.

Marcos is upbeat that the project, apart from generating employment for her constituents, will boost local tourism and usher in business activities and economic benefits for the province. 

Ilocos Norte is not new to the use of renewable energy which began in the 1980s when Pagudpud town established the five-megawatt Agua Grande mini-hydro power plant.

In 2005, former governor Ferdinand Marcos Jr. put up  25-megawatt energy wind turbines or windmills in Bangui town.

The Currimao solar power plant is expected be completed on May 14, 2014.