Spanish firms urged to invest in RP’s wind and solar power projects

Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez has urged Spanish wind and solar power companies to participate in the growing renewable energy sector in the Philippines.

In a forum in Madrid hosted by the Consejo Superior de Camaras de Comercio, Perez told representatives of Spanish companies in the wind turbine, solar, and electrical machinery sector to use the Philippines as their hub in Asia given the historical ties between Spain and the Philippines.

The Philippines intends to be the largest wind power producer in Southeast Asia within a decade, with a potential project capacity of 500 megawatts (MW).

The Philippine delegation also met with senior officials of Soluziona, Spain’s leading power consulting and engineering services firm.

Perez said results of the one-on-one meetings between Spanish firms and Filipino renewable companies showed there was keen interest from Spanish firms in undertaking wind power projects in Northern Ilocos, Camiguin, Mindoro and Palawan as well as solar projects in Mindanao.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has been actively promoting wind power to accelerate rural electrification of island grids as part of the Arroyo administration’s campaign against rural poverty.

A wind assessment by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimated that the Philippines has a theoretical maximum wind potential of 76,000 MW.

Spain has the world’s second largest wind power capacity with 4,800 MW of installed capacity.

Spain was the third leg of the Philippine renewable energy trade mission to Europe. The delegation also visited a 44-MW wind farm in Navas del Marques in Avila designed by Soluziona and toured a wind turbine plant of Gamesa Energia.

The Philippine delegation also inspected the Tres Cantos solar cell facility of BP Solar España to review the ongoing joint DAR-DOE solar electrification project for 40 agrarian reform communities in Mindanao funded by a Spanish official development assistance (ODA) loan, and visited the one-MW Toledo solar power plant.