DMCI Power to build wind farm on Semirara Island

Antique’s Semirara Island will soon have its own wind farm that can generate as much as 12 megawatts (MW) of energy, boosting electricity supply on the island—depository of the biggest coal reserves in the Philippines and home to more than 26,000 people.

Leading off-grid electricity generator DMCI Power Corp. (DPC) is preparing to build the wind power plant with capacity of at least 8 MW to as much 12 MW. It is expected to start operations within 12 to 15 months, parent conglomerate DMCI Holdings said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.

“We are also looking at solar energy to augment the supply on the island, but we are prioritizing wind resource development because it has shown the most promise,” said DPC president Antonino Gatdula, Jr.

“Current studies suggest that wind power could potentially deliver a 33-percent plant utilization rate, compared to just 17 percent for solar [facility]. Capital expenditure per megawatt for both wind and solar projects are also roughly the same,” he explained.

Findings of a 2001 wind resource study conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a United States Department of Energy laboratory, showed that Semirara Island has some of the best wind resources in the Philippines. The wind corridors between Luzon and Panay, including Semirara Islands and extending to the Cuyo Islands, were found to have “good-to-excellent” wind power density and speed for utility-scale or village power applications.

DPC, which will fund and undertake the project independently, is now validating these wind resource estimates to determine the final location and capacity of its wind project.

Semirara reopens Narra pit

Planning for the wind farm project comes as DMCI’s integrated energy firm, Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC), resumed in October 2022 mining operations at Narra, one of SMPC’s two live mining sites (the other one is Molave) following the depletion of the Panian site in 2016.

Narra had been non-operational since March 2019 due to implementation of “geotechnical solutions” on the continuous increase of water seepage at its pit.

Upon SMPC’s opening of the south side of Narra pit, it was found to be laden with limestone deposits, resulting in water seepage that requires more electricity to pump out. To avoid using diesel to run its pumping machines, SMPC considered harnessing either solar or wind energy, but eventually decided to prioritize the wind project.

The 8 to 12-MW projected capacity is enough to cover the energy needed for the “dewatering” of Narra pit, while the excess will be used to displace peak energy demand for the Semirara community, including SMPC’s housing project.

Meanwhile, SMPC has installed new facilities for wastewater treatment last year. It opened two settling ponds for the Narra and Molave pits to intercept silt generated from mining operations. It also operated a new septage treatment plant to manage the sludge from operations and support facilities like housing and offices. INQ