Burgos wind farm to ease Phl power crisis

By Freddie G. Lazaro

BURGOS, Ilocos Norte — The 150 megawatt (MW) wind farm constructed at 700-hectare land extending across three barangays of this town — Saoit, Poblacion and Nagsurot — promises to be part of the solution that will ease the looming electricity crisis in the country this year.

The 150 MW Burgos Wind Farm, which is the second wind farm built in the province of Ilocos Norte by the Lopez-owned Energy Development Corporation (EDC), is the biggest wind farm in the country and in Southeast Asia.

The wind farm had an estimated cost of US$450 million for its construction and had been commissioned by the Department of Energy (DOE) in November 2014.

The project was the first one to be nominated by the DOE as eligible for the department’s feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme.

EDC president and chief operating officer Richard B. Tantoco mentioned the great help of the wind farm to contribute for the solution of the power generation crisis in the country particularly in the Luzon grid.

But, he admitted power generation of the wind farm will decrease in the months of April and May due to the expected slowing of winds in the area.

“Burgos Wind Farm is greatly contributing to power supply generation from November towards the end of March but upon the entry of the months of April and May in which this period would be the expected peak of the power crisis; the wind will be expected to slow down; however, we could still generate power but not that full of 150 MW,” Tantoco said.

The 150MW Burgos Wind Farm composed of 50 giant wind turbines with equivalent height of 25-storey building. The wind farm can produce a total of 150MW that can supply the electricity requirement of at least 2.2 million households.

Tantoco visited the wind farm last week to attend a thanksgiving mass with Ilocos Norte officials led by Gov. Imee Marcos.