More wind farms to be developed in Ilocos Norte

LAOAG CITY – Three wind power developers were given the green light to build new wind farms this year, reinforcing Ilocos Norte’s bid to become the home of renewable energy (RE) in the country.

Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos on Wednesday said the Lopez family-run Energy Development Corp. (EDC) would operate a $310-million facility in Burgos town. Energy Logics will put up its own plants in Burgos and in neighboring Pasuquin town at the cost of $380 million.

The UPC Renewables, an affiliate of the Italian UPC Group, will also build plants in the villages of Balaoi and Caparispisan in Pagudpud town.

The new wind energy sources were part of the governor’s report in her state of the province address on Wednesday marking her first year in office.

“Today, we decide to break our dependence on fossil fuel and within the next few years, we must generate 50 percent of the energy used by the province from renewable energies,” Marcos said.

“We were the first [to harness wind power in the Philippines]. We will not stop until we achieve all our dreams.”

Lawyer Ferdinand Dumlao, chairman of the Northwind Power Development Corp. (NWPDC) that built the first wind farm in Bangui, said he welcomed the entry of more wind power plants in the province.

He said the presence of other wind farms would pose no competition among developers since all energy produced would be sold to the national grid through the wholesale electricity spot market.

“All generated wind energy is of priority dispatch to the grid,” he said.

He said the NWPDC also intended to expand its wind farm in Bangui and in Cagayan Valley.

Like Northwind, other renewable energy developers are banking on the Energy Regulatory Commission to approve the feed-in-tariff (FIT) rates so that all RE projects will take off.

The FIT rates assure renewable energy developers of sustained cash flow in the future because consumers would be charged a fixed rate.

But as a consequence of the Philippine Renewable Energy Act of 2010 (Republic Act No. 9513), the 25-year energy sales agreement between Northwind and the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative had to be terminated. Cristina Arzadon, Inquirer Northern Luzon