Marcos to open 160-MW wind farm, PH’s biggest, in Ilocos Norte

PERFECT BACKDROP The wind farm in Bangui, Ilocos Norte, in this photo taken in 2019, is a picture perfect spot for tourists exploring northern Luzon. Other wind farms also operate in the towns of Burgos and Pagudpud as the country taps renewable energy sources to help lower the cost of electricity. —WILLIE LOMIBAO

PAGUDPUD, ILOCOS NORTE—President Marcos will inaugurate today a 160-megawatt wind farm, touted to be the largest in the country, in a coastal community in this northernmost town in his home province.

The P11.4-billion Pagudpud Wind Project in the villages of Balaoi and Caunayan is bankrolled by AC Energy Corp., the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group. It started construction in 2021 and is set to operate at full capacity later this year.

The President will be joined by Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla and Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chair of Ayala Corp., during the project opening in Ilocos Norte, where other wind farms are operating in the towns of Bangui and Burgos. In April this year, the President issued an executive order (EO) to hasten the issuance of permits for offshore wind (OSW) power projects as the government wants to boost the use of renewable energy in the country.

In his EO 21, Mr. Marcos pointed out that Republic Act No. 9513, or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, mandates the government to accelerate the exploration and development of renewable energy resources such as wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal and ocean.

“OSW, if optimally developed, will play a major role in our country’s goal for a low-carbon future, improved energy security and reduced dependence on import fuels,” it said.

Mr. Marcos, in an earlier statement, said the Philippines had the potential to be a “major wind power producer” in the world. “Our unique topography is very suitable for building offshore wind farms, and we should take advantage of it to produce cheap electricity,” he said.

—NESTOR CORRALES

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