RP develops region's first wind farm

RP develops region's first wind farm

MANILA: Southeast Asia's first power-generating windfarm is now being built in the northern Philippines and should start operations in December, the head of the company behind the project said Monday.

Construction began last week on a 38-million-dollar power plant using 15 wind turbines. The wind farm lies on a four- kilometer (2.5-mile) stretch of shoreline facing Bangui Bay on the northwest tip of the main island of Luzon, said Niels Jacobsen, president of Northwind Power Development Corp.

The 25-megawatt wind farm, the first in Southeast Asia, should begin operations by December said Jacobsen.

Dutch firm Vestas Wind Systems will be providing the wind turbines.

The project is funded by a 29-million-dollar soft loan from the Danish International Development Agency, while Northwind is providing an additional nine million dollars.

Environmentalists have hailed the project for providing an alternative power source in the Philippines which relies mainly on imported fossil fuels.

"There's a need for clean energy and it is a good opportunity to start in the Philippines," Jacobsen said.--AFP