The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced plans to help fund the country’s biggest wind farm in support of efforts to cut the Philippines’ carbon footprint.
In a statement, the Manila-based multilateral lender said it would lend $20 million to Energy Development Corp., which operates the Burgos wind complex in Ilocos Norte.
“This Burgos wind farm is a major contributor to the government’s drive to scale up renewable energy use and to reduce its reliance on coal and petroleum for power generation,” ADB private sector operations director Christopher Thieme said Friday.
Government estimates showed that the Philippines has about 250,000 megawatts of untapped renewable energy resources. The Department of Energy wants to have about 2,870 MW of additional capacity installed from renewables such as wind, solar, hydro and geothermal by 2030.
This is part of government efforts to slowly wean the country off fossil fuels. ADB said the Burgos facility provided a “shot in the arm” to efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions.
ADB said it signed a financing assignment agreement of up to $20 million with EDC unit EDC Burgos Wind Power Corp., Export Credit Fonden and a syndicate of international commercial banks to support the wind farm’s development.
“The operation of this farm will avoid the production of over 200,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions a year, making it a sustainable energy source for the country,” Thieme said.
The 150-MW Burgos farm in Ilocos Norte was completed in November 2014 and is owned and operated by EDC, the biggest geothermal energy producer in the Philippines. EDC is also the largest integrated steam and geothermal energy producer in the world. Paolo G. Montecillo