The Asian Development Bank has already begun a wind resource mapping project that will identify the potential capacities that can be generated from various prospective but untapped wind sites across the country.
Energy Undersecretary Jose M. Layug Jr. said that the mapping activity is currently “progressing,” and that the ADB and the Department of Energy have already identified the prospective sites.
Once the areas have been firmed up, these may be offered to the private sector for possible exploration and development under a bidding scheme similar to the Philippine Energy Contracting Round.
It is considered vital for the government to have on hand accurate and updated resource data because this will largely dictate the value and scope of the work programs that can be offered by the private sector.
The last study conducted on the country’s wind resources was the Philippine Wind Energy Resource Atlas prepared by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory in 2001.
According to this study, the Philippines has 76,600 megawatts of total wind potential in six regions: the Batanes and Babuyan islands, north of Luzon; Ilocos Norte; the higher interior terrain of Luzon, Mindoro, Samar, Leyte, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Palawan, eastern Mindanao, and adjacent islands; coastal locations from northern Luzon to Samar; wind corridors between Luzon and Mindoro; and islands between Mindoro and Panay.
The Philippines only has one wind farm, the 33-MW Bangui Bay project installed by North Wind Power Development Corp. To remain as the leading wind energy producer in Southeast Asia, the DOE said it would add 2,345 MW of wind capacity by 2030.