Mindanao Star The Purveyor of Truth, Justice and Development
Volume II, No. 24
web portal: www.businessweekmindanao.com Saturday-Sunday september 13-14, 2014 P10.00
Beyond Clean & Green:
Ilocos Norte aims for Zero Carbon Footprint and Beyond By Mike Baños, Editor-at-Large
Perhaps fate brought the iconic Bangui Windmills to Ilocos Norte, but the pioneering renewable energy project could well have blazed the trail to the province’s sustainable future with a zero carbon neutrality status. Despite the presence of the wind turbines which could supply cheap and clean energy, the province’s economy continues to be mostly based on agriculture and fisheries, with manufacturing mostly based on cottage industries (loom weaving, furniture, handicrafts, ceramics, metal craft) and food processing (salt, empanada, bagoong, patis, basi (native
Ilocano wine), vinegar, longganisa, chicharon, bagnet, chichacorn or cornick). The province’s location at the northwest corner of Luzon makes it ideal for wind power generation but ironically, the power that’s fed to the Luzon grid mostly benefits users outside the province. Hence, the provincial government is not exactly ecstatic over the growing number of wind
A closer look at the EDC wind farm under construction in Burgos, Ilocos Norte
EDC-wind-farms-under-construction-in-Burgos-Ilocos-Norte. farms sprouting like mushrooms around its coastlines. “Wind power has been our lynchpin because we have it as a natural resource,” said Gov. Imee Marcos in an exclusive interview with Cagayan de Oro and Cebu Journalists who recently undertook a familiarization tour of the province. “Unfortunately unlike the extractive industries, the local government and local communities don’t necessarily benefit, so it’s very important to us that corporate social responsibility, the development of supply and value chains, the exploitation first of local resources and compliance with environmental codes be upheld.” Energy Regulation No. 1-94 stipulates the required assistance to local communities by power developers. Situated just an hour and a half drive from the capital city of Laoag, the Bangui Windmills started with 15 wind turbines in June, 2005 following an extensive wind resource analysis and mapping study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in 1996. Northwind Power Development Corp. (NWPDC) developed, maintains and operates the project, while Vestas Wind Systems, a Danish firm, supplied the wind turbine-generator units (WTGs) for the site.
CDO and Cebu Journalists interview Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos (Photo-Courtesy-of-Alaric-Yanos)
The Bangui Bay Project is the first in the Philippines to be awarded an Emissions Reduction Purchase Agreement (ERPA) under the Clean Development Mechanism. It is also the first Philippine recipient of the Carbon Emission Reduction Certificates (CER’s) from the Executive Board of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In 2006, the project produced a five percent discount of the weighted average price in the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) or a
generated savings of approximately USD1.4 million (PhP 70 million) for electricity consumers of the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC). Phase II added 5 more wind turbines to raise total capacity to 33MW in 2008, increasing the project’s power contribution to Ilocos Norte from 40 to 50 percent. NWPDC expects to complete Phase III with 6 new wind turbines adding a total of 18 MW installed capacity by year end. The first in Southeast Asia, the $75-million Bangui
wind farm has become one of the main sources of electricity as well as a major tourist attraction for Ilocos Norte. Two other firms are now constructing additional installations: Energy Development Corporation targets 150MW by 2015 in Burgos, and the National Renewable Energy Corp. (formerly UPC Renewables) for 81MW in Pagudpud, one of Ilocos Norte’s major tourism destinations. Once operational, EDC’s Burgos Wind Project will See ilocos, page 7
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