The government is considering all technologies to ensure energy security and improve energy mix for renewables, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Friday as he visited a wind farm project in Ilocos Norte.
“At lahat nitong bagong teknolohiya ay talagang titingnan natin. We continue to work on all of the sources of renewable energy,” President Marcos said during the presentation to him of ACEN Corp.’s 160-Megawatt Wind Farm in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte.
“As I mentioned, solar.…. pagagandahin natin ‘yung mga geothermal, ‘yung mga dam natin, baka puwede pang i-expand ang hydrothermal na power na kinukuha natin diyan.”
Aside from renewables, the administration is looking at nuclear power, he said, assuring the public that using such energy source must be within the highest safety and environmental standards to avoid accidents and disasters.
“But nonetheless, kailangan na kailangan patuloy na tayong naghahanap ng bagong renewable energy sources. Kailangan patuloy ang ating pagtatayo ng mga facilities kagaya nito dahil ang kailangan ngayon sa market ay clean energy,” he said.
The President emphasized that his administration is working to fix the country’s energy sector from the supply side to distribution to ensure sufficient electricity supply, highlighting their importance to ordinary consumers, businesses and manufacturers.
Every step from power generation to distribution must be fine-tuned to boost the country’s overall economic activity, he said.
The government and people of Ilocos Norte should keep the province as the pioneer for renewables, he said, recalling that the first wind farm in Southeast Asia was built in the town of Bangui during his term as governor of Ilocos Norte.
“And tayo naman mga tiga-Ilocos, let us continue to keep the province as the pioneer for renewables. We are leading the way for the whole country. And it is a good place to be because it is very important, not only to Ilocanos, not only tayo dito sa Ilocos Norte, but for the entire Philippines,” he said, adding that although it is a complicated business and difficult to implement, the basic technology is already mature.
Marcos also commended the energy firm, ACEN Corp., for its full commitment to pursue renewable energy generation in the country.
The Pagudpud Wind, funded by the Ayala-led company, secured a long-term market through the Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP) of the Department of Energy (DOE) that was auctioned in June 2022.
This is the third wind energy development in Ilocos Norte along with NorthWind Bangui Bay Project in Bangui and North Luzon Renewables in Pagudpud.
Over 1,200 jobs have been generated since the Pagudpud Wind started construction. In total, ACEN Corp. has created over 4,000 jobs, both in operations and construction, in Ilocos Norte since 2014 including those for NorthWind and North Luzon Renewables.
The project is currently operating at an initial 80-megawatts capacity of the expected 160-megawatts. Full operations will be completed no later than December 2025. PND
