Energy firm to build wind facility in Sagada

By Robert Pangod

Friday, August 26, 2011

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- Renewable energy firm PhilCarbon Inc. is set to put up a wind energy project in Mountain Province.

The project is a 15-megawatt wind facility, which will tap wind stream at Pilao ridge in the boundary of Sagada and Besao.

Sagada is a fifth class municipality in the province of Mountain Province and is famous for its "hanging coffins." It is nestled in a valley at the upper end of the Malitep tributary of the Chico River one and a half kilometers above sea level in the central Cordillera; enveloped between the main Cordillera Ranges and the Ilocos Range Ruth Yu-Owen, president of PhilCarbon, said the estimated project cost for building the wind facility is $25-30 million.

Under the proposed wind project, a series of 25 units of 70-meter high wind turbines, each capable of producing electricity up to a maximum of 600 KW, shall be built along the Pilao ridge.

The output will then be conveyed to the existing 69-kilovolt transmission network in Pegeo, Sagada.

At present, the company said it is in the process of re-appraising the feasibility studies conducted by teams of experts earlier.

“Additional technical studies of the project are ongoing,” Yu-Owen said.

Engineer Rufino Bomas-ang, chairman of the Board of Directors of PhilCarbon, said Sagada, Besao and Tadian towns, all in Mountain Province were identified as potential areas for wind energy based on a feasibility study they prepared during his term as energy undersecretary in 1993-1995.

Their findings were later confirmed by a team of Japanese investors who visited the country, particularly Mountain Province, to look at potential wind energy technology.

“There is a constant flow of wind in these areas throughout the year which is the key factor in the generation of wind energy,” Bomas-ang said.

Jude Domoguen, general manager of the Mountain Province Electric Cooperative (Mopreco) said the total electricity consumption of Mountain Province is only 4 MW. Once the project pushes through, the excess power could then be sold to the national government.

Sagada Mayor Eduardo Latawan Jr. said that the entry of PhilCarbon will revitalize the development of renewable energy sources in the province.

“Any kind of alternative energy, such as solar or wind power, should be supported because they are more sustainable, economical and environment friendly as exemplified by the Bangui Wind Plant in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, which generates 33 MW of clean electricity,” Latawan said.

“The local tourism industry will also greatly benefit because the wind farm will add a graceful landmark to the panorama of the Pilao mountain ridge which is frequented by tourists,” he added.

As a local host to the wind energy source, Latawan said the LGU is willing to enter into a partnership with PhilCarbon in the establishment of the wind energy facility and use it as a channel to expand development opportunities in Sagada and Besao.

PhilCarbon is a local company engaged primarily in the development of renewable energy sources for power generation as well as carbon credit trading and documentation for eligible projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. Under the CDM, projects that displace carbon emissions, such as renewable energy projects, may earn credits that can be traded to countries that are heavy polluters.

Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper on August 27, 2011.