Wind power group seeks reasonable tariff scheme

ILOCOS NORTE - The feed-in tariff for wind power projects should be reasonable to spur an estimated $3 billion in investments into the subsector, the Wind Energy Development Association of the Philippines (WEDAP) said Thursday. There should be reasonable rates to compensate for the upfront investment in building a wind farm, said WEDAP, a group of 14 renewable energy firms that promote and support the development of wind power as an energy resource. The Renewable Energy Law of 2008, through the feed-in tariff scheme, recognizes the unfair advantage of fossil-fuel based power generators with the non-pricing of climate change and local pollution in the the subsector's operions, WEDAP said in a position paper. The tariff seeks to level the playing field by providing revenue support for emerging technologies that are renewable and environment-friendly. Still, the National Renewable Board has yet to come up with the tariff for each renewable energy technology. The Energy Regulatory Commission has not yet released the tariff scheme rules. "WEDAP members are hopeful that the country’s wind potential will finally be unlocked by policy instruments to benefit all Filipinos," said the group whose members includes the Energy Development Corp., an affiliate of First Gen Corp., Alternergy, Trans-Asia, Petro Energy, UPC Renewables, and Northwind Power Development Corp. Transmission lines Wind power facilities need a stable market for its intermittent output, as well as adequate transmission lines to access windy, remote locations, the association said. Based on information from Germany and Spain, which source a significant amount of electricity from wind farms, clean and sustainable wind power is starting to compete with fossil fuel-based power. With the transmission company now under the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, WEDAP sees onset of support on the infrastructure side. The group said the Philippines has good wind sites that the Energy Department continues to award wind farm applications with renewable energy service contracts that give exclusive development rights in windy locations all over the country. The subsector could add 1,000 megawatts of clean generating capacity and attract an estimated $3 billion in investments and 15,100 technical jobs, according to the association. Niels Jacobsen, WEDAP head and president and CEO of Northwind Power, which built the country's biggest project to date — the 33-MW Bangui Wind Farm in Ilocos Norte — said that the members are excited not just by individual wind projects but by the prospect of the Philippines leading Southeast Asia in wind power generation. Jacobsen believes that the success of the Bangui farm can be replicated. Apart from its functional purpose, the wind farm remains a popular tourist attraction years after it was built. "WEDAP hopes that, three to five years from now, the popularity of the Bangui wind mills will be replicated not only as a tourist destination but also as a source of environment-friendly electricity," the group said. "As the Philippines and, indeed, the whole world struggle to find a sustainable source of clean and competitively priced power, the local potential of wind power cannot be ignored. Each megawatt of wind power offers carbon-free electricity that is not subject to fuel price escalations," WEDAP said. —OMG/VS, GMANews.TV