Ilocos Norte’s windmills remain the poster
image of the Philippines
When the solar power
inverter farm begins operating, Marcos said,
Ilocos Norte will generate 50 percent of its power requirement from
clean energy and attract investment.
“It will power
up industries in the Currimao port, the best area for passenger and cargo
[shipping] in Luzon,” Marcos said.
Marcos said the Paguludan community and
outlying villages would benefit from jobs that would be generated by the
project.
CURRIMAO, Ilocos Norte—A solar power farm
that will feed the Luzon grid has broken ground in the sunniest corner of this
province—the fishing and farming village of Paguludan.
Facing the West
Philippine Sea , Paguludan is best known for its beaches. In 2010
the Philippine Tour Operators Association (Philtoa) declared the town one of
the emerging tourist destinations in the country.
The Currimao solar power farm is one of two
projects that the Department of Energy (DOE) has approved for Ilocos Norte.
In the pipeline is the 50-megawatt solar power
project of Energy Logics Philippines Inc. in the towns of Pasuquin and Burgos
On Thursday the Korean power company Mirae
Asia Energy Corp. (MAEC) and the Ilocos Norte government broke ground to signal
the start of the construction of the 20-MW Currimao solar farm on a 60-hectare
property here.
The area is within the 150-kilometer
stretch of sand dunes in Barangay Paguludan.
With vast open expanses that border on Currimao Bay
Albert Sacramed, Paguludan village chief,
said life was bound to change for farming and fishing families in his community
with the development of the solar power farm.
“We are
assured of jobs during the construction period and, [we hope], more reliable
and cheaper power for us,” Sacramed said.
The solar power farm is expected to be
completed in May 2014, with an initial output of 10 MW in the first phase.
Formerly barren
Currimao Mayor Gladys Go-Cue said the site
was formerly covered by a lease agreement between her family and the provincial
environment and natural resources office (Penro) for a tree farm that was
developed by her father, the late Mayor Ernesto Go, in the 1990s.
“This area
used to be a desert. My father began filling it, improved the dirt roads and
planted trees during his time as mayor. I feel like he prepared this site for
the solar farm,” Cue said.
A portion of the property is now covered
with fully grown trees, a requirement for the solar park in addition to
abundant sunlight.
Cue’s family also wanted the area to be
developed into a resort, but gave up on the development because of inability to
meet the investment requirement.
Groundwork for the solar power farm began
last year when Gov. Imee Marcos signed an agreement with Korean investor
Jongson Bae, MAEC president, for the development of the project.
Marcos said Currimao, with an extended dry
season of up to nine months, grid tie inverter was the best choice for
the project.
“With the
solar park, we will establish our claim as the renewable energy center of the
country after the wind farm in Bangui and the hydropower source in the towns of
Pagudpud and Adams,” Marcos said.
Windmills of Ilocos
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