PAGUDPUD, Ilocos Norte – A leading energy
firm is eyeing another windmill project here, which could be the third in the
province after the Bangui Northwind power plant and the ongoing $300-million,
87-megawatt wind project in adjoining Burgos town.
This time, the
northernmost town of Pagudpud is being considered as the site for the
wind-generated energy project of the Energy Development Corp. (EDC), the
country’s largest geothermal producer.
The Lopez group-owned
EDC, formerly under the state-run Philippine National Oil Co., is also behind
the Bangui and Burgos windmill projects. The $75-million Bangui wind farm is
the first in Southeast Asia.
Reports said EDC
experts are conducting feasibility studies and site inspections in Pagudpud for
the proposed wind energy facility.
Pagudpud is one of
Ilocos Norte’s major tourism destinations as it boasts fine white sand beaches
and its long and winding coastal highway linking Ilocos (Region 1) and Cagayan
Valley (Region 2).
Last April, local,
energy and EDC officials led the groundbreaking of the windmill project in
Burgos town, described to be bigger than the one in Bangui where the first wind
farm project assisted by a Danish firm was inaugurated in 2005.
The Burgos windmill,
expected to be operational next year, covers some 600 hectares across the
villages of Saoit, Poblacion and Nagsurot. It is designed to generate at least
230 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to supply a million
households.
According to experts,
wind farms, besides becoming major tourist attractions in the province, are the
safest and environment-friendly source of energy. Its utilization also reduces
the country’s dependence on imported oil for power generation.
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