Wind power to light up Negros

Windmills have been energizing many parts of Europe for several years now. They remain to be a major contributor to the power sources of Europe (20 percent in Germany and practically all for Denmark) even as the continent has tapped nuclear and other energy sources. But in tropical countries like the Philippines — where the wind comes mainly from open seas and mountain tops — this source of energy is virtually unknown.

Under the Green Renewable Independent Power Producer (GRIPP) program of the International Institute for Energy Conservation, Greenpeace Southeast Asia and various international stakeholders like Germanwatch, the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement and Solar Electric Co. Inc. and the LGU of Negros, windmills will be introduced and will soon become a vital part of the landscape of Negros province.

Over at Sitio Wayang, Barangay Patic — the very site that rejected the 50-MW coal fired power plant — there stands a 40-foot anemometer, the precursor of an on-grid wind farm called Pulupandan wind energy development project. This project is being packaged by Solarco president Robert Lopez Puckett for presentation to potential investors.

Once operational, the wind farm will be the first of several major clean energy projects envisioned for the province by GRIPP.

GRIPP and its partner, Solarco and the local community have put up 25 wind turbines in Pulupandan town, with a capacity of 50 megawatts.

GRIPP is currently involved in resource assessments and pre-feasibility studies in three potential wind farm sites in Negros .

Solarco president Robert Lopez Puckett is bringing and setting up the windmill technology in Negros and hopes to launch it by January 2007, alongside other alternative fuel initiatives that the company is setting up in the province.

Solarco — currently commercializing solar, wind and micro hydro technologies  through education, information dissemination and promotion efforts — provides services like consultations, system design, configuration/integration and installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, wind turbine generators (WTG) and micro hydro power for lighting, water pumping, telecommunications, battery charging stations, refrigeration and such other diverse purposes that can be served by any or a combination of regenerative sources of electricity like sun, wind and water.

"Wind energy will be the next generation’s cheapest source of electricity," Puckett said.

GRIPP and Solarco have tapped the services of Halcrow, a British company that has had extensive experience in wind energy in Europe, for the feasibility study of the Negros wind project, Puckett said.

For the feasibility study portion, Solarco and Halcrow conducted wind monitoring and movement assessment and have found the wind incidence in Negros is sufficient to propel the turbines and justify the installation of such windmills, Puckett said.

These data are all computer generated and with the feasibility study completed, we can justify its installation and operation in Pulupandan, Negros island, Puckett said.

"One wind plant can produce 2 MW (megawatt) and with only 25 turbines producing 2 MW each you can energize the entire area," the said.

As envisioned, a hectare of land will be set aside to put up the tall (30 stories high) windmill. The windwill will be attached to a base of 400 sq.m. Puckett explained.

Twenty five hectares can house twenty five windmills with distance of 400 meters from each other all running at the same time.