48-MW wind power project set in Or. Mindoro

CALAPAN CITY, Philippines - The 48-megawatt wind power project in Oriental Mindoro, said to be the largest so far in the country, broke ground last Friday at the resort town of Puerto Galera.

Oriental Mindoro 1st District Rep. Rodolfo Valencia said the 48-mw Wind Energy Power System (WEPS) project will cost P6 billion and will be implemented in three phases.

The project will boost economic activity in the province, specifically in the tourism and manufacturing sectors.

Italian Ambassador to the Philippines Luca Fornari led guests including Oriental Mindoro Governor Alfonso Umali Jr., Rep. Rey Umali of the 2nd district, and representatives from Italian power firm CMC Asia, Inc. led by its chairman Armando de Rossi, who is also the chief executive officer of the project owner-developer Philippine Hybrid Energy System Inc. (PHESI).

The project’s facility site in the mountain village of Baclayan, overlooking Puerto Galera’s scenic resorts and coves, has an area of 1,296 hectares located within the Department of Energy-approved Renewable Energy Service Contract (RESC), six kilometers from the interconnection point of the NPC-SPUG 69 KV Mindoro Grid.

WEPS will commence commercial operations by 2015.

The Puerto Galera wind project is a component of the power development program supported by the Provincial Development Council (PDC) of the Oriental Mindoro provincial government.

Other renewable sources in this island province identified for possible power generation are hydro, wind and geothermal, with an estimated combined generating capacity of 380 megawatts.

Valencia also said that 35 waterfalls in the province are still under study for power generation.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has approved the inclusion of WEPS in its Transmission Development Plan of the Batangas-Mindoro Interconnection Project (BMIP), which will link the island of Mindoro to mainland Luzon through submarine power cable.