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