- green-spots
- energy
- Philippines
- Burgos Wind farm Project, Philippines
Problems
The energy crisis in the Philippines
While access to electricity has improved in the Philippines, the country still faces an energy insecurity problem. The government depends on coal power and large-scale transmission lines to meet its growing electricity demand. While aiming to supply electricity to the cities, rural areas have fallen behind. Rural areas are still short of affordable energy. The electricity rate is high because of the invalidity of commercial electricity supply. While the country's electricity access rate has reached 90% as of 2016, it is still low for rural areas, with an average of 85% and 77% in Mindanao (World Bank 2018; Philippine Statics Authority 2018). This archipelago of over a thousand islands is not always connected to the power grid. The isolated places typically depend on costly diesel generators, suffering from high electricity rates and air pollution. Due to the development of a large-scale generation and transmission system, the country's electricity rate is exceedingly high, almost unaffordable for low-income citizens in rural areas. In rural off-grid regions, electricity is generated mainly from diesel, which is costly due to imports. The electricity rates for rural areas are even higher than those of urban areas. There is a significant discrepancy in the availability and affordability of electricity between urban and rural areas. Due to a large discrepancy between cities and rural areas, most of the population and commercial activities are concentrated in Manila, resulting in various urban problems, such as overpopulation, increased income gap between rich and poor, and air pollution. The distribution map of the energy consumption rate (ECR) per capita [kW/person] highlights the gap in electricity delivery between the regions.
Solutions
Burgos Wind farm Project
Author: Carbon Neutral Britain
The Burgos Wind Project is the largest wind farm in the Philippines and is also considered one of Southeast Asia's largest wind farms. It is located in one of the best areas in the country to generate clean energy from wind. The 150-MW facility has fifty (50) Vestas V90 wind turbines, each with a rated capacity of 3 MW. The wind farm has a substation connected to a 43 KM 115 kV Transmission Line to the Laoag substation of the grid operator, the NGCP (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines). The Project complies with all local and national environmental policies. The Project maintains and monitors strict compliance with standards on land use, water and waste disposal, and noise monitoring. More importantly, the Burgos Wind Farm produces clean energy and displaces generation from other sources that contribute pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions to the environment. The Burgos Wind Team likewise leads projects and initiatives with the local governments and communities that promote the protection of the environment. Engaging and empowering the community is a critical objective of the Project. The team hosts a local radio program that discusses various topics with the local community, primarily on protecting and promoting the environment. During construction, the Burgos Wind Farm generated a significant number of jobs. Now in its operations stage, it continues to benefit the local communities. The Project also complies with all the national and local regulations on fees and taxes. Proceeds from the share of the local government have helped improve the communities. The Burgos Wind Team actively leads initiatives that help the livelihood of communities, partners with local government agencies, and responds to the needs of the residents in times of disaster.
Source: https://carbonneutralbritain.org/pages/burgos-wind-farm-project-philippines
Gallery
2
Timelines
2020
The Burgos Wind Farm project completed the construction of the BESS, which provides ancillary services and grid stability to the Luzon grid.
2019
The Burgos Wind Farm project received another loan of $40 million from the ADB to finance the construction of a 10MW battery energy storage system (BESS) and a 40MW hybrid power plant that combines wind, solar, and diesel generation.
2015
The Burgos Wind Farm was awarded the 2015 Asia Power Engineering International Best Renewable Energy Project for achieving five million safe man-hours without incident.
2014
The Burgos Wind Farm was commissioned, and upon its completion, it became the largest wind farm in the country and Southeast Asia, covering 600 hectares and three barangays of Burgos, namely Saoit, Poblacion, and Nagsurot.