Bago Negros Energy Corp. has broken ground on a 150-megawatt wind power project in Bago City, Negros Occidental, the first wind development of its kind in the Negros Island Region.
The project, with an initial cost of 9.78 billion pesos, will involve the construction and operation of 23 wind turbine generators across seven barangays. It is expected to strengthen power supply in the Visayas grid and support the Philippines’ renewable energy roadmap.
“This is our first project in the Philippines. Right now, we have put our focus on the Philippine market. This is going to be our first, that’s why we would like it to be a hundred percent success,” BNEC Vice President Passakorn Panyaratanakorn said during the groundbreaking ceremony in Barangay Calumangan.
BNEC is backed by Thailand-based renewable energy developer Sermsang Power Corp. Public Co. Ltd., which lists the Bago City Wind Power Project among its developments.
Bago City Mayor Marina Javellana-Yao said the project showed what can be achieved when government, the private sector and communities work together for sustainable development.
“We are not only witnessing the start of a structure, we are witnessing the beginning of a legacy,” Javellana-Yao said.
Department of Energy Renewable Energy Management Bureau Assistant Director Ruby de Guzman said the project would help position Bago City as an emerging renewable energy hub in Negros Occidental.
“You have diverse renewable energy resources. With this 150-MW wind power project, we are seeing that Bago City is now becoming the rising renewable energy hub in Negros Occidental,” De Guzman said.
The construction of the wind project is expected to take about a year.
Based on the project’s executive summary, the Department of Energy awarded the Bago City Wind Power Project a service contract area covering 5,265 hectares. The area will accommodate the wind power plant’s core facilities, substation, access roads, support facilities and other supplementary areas.
The project area spans Sampinit, Taloc, Calumangan, Busay, Lag-asan, Balingasag and Napoles.
Barangay Napoles will host 10 wind turbine generators and a substation, while Busay will have seven turbines, Calumangan three, and Taloc, Sampinit and Lag-asan one each.