November 6, 2015 10:17 pm by MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO , Reporter
MANILA-BASED Asian
Development Bank (ADB) will help develop the largest wind farm in the
Philippines by investing $20 million in the 150-megawatt Burgos wind farm in
Ilocos Norte through a financing assignment agreement.
The ADB said its
co-financiers include Eksport Kredit Fonden, international commercial banks,
and local commercial banks.
The Burgos wind farm
was completed in November 2014 and is owned and operated by EDC Burgos Wind
Power Corp. (EBWPC), a unit of Energy Development Corp. (EDC).
“This Burgos wind farm is a major contributor to the government’s drive to
scale up renewable energy use and to reduce its reliance on coal and petroleum
for power generation,” said Christopher Thieme, director of ADB’s Private
Sector Operations Department.
The lender also
lauded the Philippines in its effort to build up its renewable energy sector
with the goal of cutting its heavy dependence on fossil fuels for electricity
generation.
It said the country’s
untapped renewable energy resources are estimated at about 250,000 MW and the
Department of Energy is targeting about 2,870 MW of additional installed
capacity from these sources by 2030.
“The operation of
this farm will avoid the production of over 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide
equivalent emissions a year, making it a sustainable energy source for the
country,” Thieme said.
ADB said the wind
farm will contribute to the government’s drive to diversify its fuel mix and to
meet rising power demand without the use of fossil fuel generation plants.
“The Burgos Wind
Project is one of EDC’s proudest achievements as a company. We are happy of our
lenders’ strong support for the project. ADB’s entry is yet another testament
that Burgos is a world class project, meeting the high standards of multilateral
funding organizations,” said Richard Tantoco, EDC president and chief operating
officer.
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