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Pagudpud wind farm now fully operational

Date Posted: January 29, 2015

November 20, 2014

PAGUDPUD, Ilocos Norte (PNA) — The 81-megawatt Pagudpud wind farm, the first and largest investment so far of the North Luzon Renewable Energy Corporation finally opened on Wednesday in the coastal and windy village of Caparispisan in this town.

Attended by Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and her sister, Governor Imee Marcos along with other guests and visitors, a ceremonial ribbon cutting ceremony and blessing of one of the 27 wind turbines was led by Father Franklin Gorospe of the St. Jude parish here.

The Pagudpud wind farm is a joint venture of three giant companies composed of UPC Renewables, Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructre (PINAI) and Ayala Corporation Energy Holdings Inc.

These three companies bolted in to develop wind projects here through the NLREC as their joint venture company.

Since November 11, John Eric Francia, president of AC Energy Holdings Inc. and one of the key shareholders of the Pagudpud wind project said that the 27 wind turbines with a full capacity of 3-megawatt each are now connected to the grid.

“So far, we can produce at the full capacity of each turbine but it depends on the wind and grid condition. We can produce up to 81-megawatts but we have to consider several factors as the grid is current being upgraded,” Francia said.

Following the successful inauguration of the over USD200-million wind project, Francia said the company is planning to expand more up to 150-megawatt as next phase of the project.

Aside from sustaining Ilocos Norte’s trademark as home of green technology through the development of more wind and solar projects, the Pagudpud wind farm situated at the rolling hills of Caparispisan village overseeing the West Philippine Sea is being eyed as an additional eco-tourism destination in this northern gateway of Luzon.

“As of now, we have yet to open the project for the public as there are still on-going civil works and minor development. It would be good for a tourism stand point as well. That’s something we have to consider but first, we have to consider safety,” he added.

As Ilocos Norte continues to lead the way in the development of renewable energy in Southeast Asia, Senator Marcos who flew in a helicopter to the project site has lauded investors for taking relevant steps towards easing expected backlog of electricity by 2015.

Marcos said the project which taps wind as an energy source is not just environmentally-sound but also contributes towards easing the expected backlog of electricity by 2015.

Earlier, the House Committee on Energy approved the granting of emergency powers to President Aquino where he will have the authority to provide for the establishment of additional power generating capacity to address the energy crisis.