6 RP regions pack 'wind power' - study

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines - Six regions in the country have excellent wind resources that can be harnessed to help boost national development.

“The best wind resource is in the north and northeast (of Luzon), and the worst resource is in the south and southeast of the archipelago,” reported Enrique Marquez of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) based in Bonuan Binloc, Pangasinan.

NFRDI, headed by interim executive director Dr. Westly Rosario, is attached to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

Marquez reported on the country’s wind resource at the “First National Summit on Modernization in Aquaculture” held recently at the DA-BFAR-NFRDI Asian Fisheries Academy (AFA) here.

Marquez presented results of a wind resource analysis and mapping study on the archipelago done by the United States Department of Energy-National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The data sets included information provided by the DOST-Philipine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), National Power Corp. (NPC), and US National Climatic Data Center.

The study resulted in the publication of “Wind Energy Resources Atlas of the Philippines,” the first of its kind done for the country. The mapping system’s main output is a color-coded map containing the estimated wind power and equivalent wind speed for each individual grid cell (electric power network).

To portray the mapping results, the archipelago was divided into 13 regions. Each region is about 300 kilometers by 300 km.

“The wind mapping results show many areas of good-to-excellent wind resource for utility-scale applications or excellent wind resource for village power applications,” the DA-BFAR-NFRDI engineer reported.

The best wind resources are found in the following six regions:

* Batanes and Babuyan Islands in the northern part of Luzon.

* Northwest tip of Luzon (Ilocos Norte).

* The higher interior terrain of Luzon, Mindoro, Palawan, Panay, Cebu, Negros, Leyte, Samar, eastern Mindanao, and adjacent islands.

* The east-facing coastal locations from northern Luzon to Samar.

* The wind corridors between Luzon and Mindoro (including Lubang Island).

* Between Mindoro and Panay (including the Semirara Islands and extending to the Cuyo Islands).

* More than 10,000 square kilometers of windy land areas have good-to-excellent wind resource potential.

“Considering only the areas of good-to-excellent wind resource, there are 47 provinces out of 73 with at least 500 MW (megawatts) of wind potential and 25 provinces with at least 1,000 MW of wind potential,” Marquez said.

Relating this limitless resources to fisheries, he said wind energy can directly benefit aquaculture by driving water pumps (wind pumps), aerating fishponds and tanks (wind mill aerators), and generating electricity (wind turbines).

Marquez said windmills and equipment required for such activities can be manufactured locally and inexpensively. Also, this provides employment.

He concluded by, among other things, recommending the establishment of a Center for Wind Energy Technology.