Firm gets nod on feasibility study for wind energy projects in Iloilo City

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor 

First Gen Visayas Energy Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Gen Corporation, has been endorsed by the Iloilo City Council to proceed with its feasibility study on the installation of wind turbine generators and substations in several villages in the city.

This is after the city council unanimously, in its regular session on Wednesday, passed a resolution endorsing the renewable energy company’s ownership and rights to operate the Iloilo Strait Wind Power Project.

“Even before, we were really endorsing renewable energy because it’s environment-friendly and we really can save on our electricity bills,” said city councilor Romel Duron, chairman of the committee on energy and public utilities.

With the endorsement from the city council, Duron said the energy company can proceed with conducting a feasibility study to forecast the demand for renewable energy.

Apart from the ownership, First Gen Visayas will also develop and maintain the project, which includes the installation of around 25 wind turbines in Ingore and Hinactacan in La Paz district and Balabago and Bito-on in Jaro district.

According to the resolution, the host barangays in Iloilo City have already submitted their respective resolutions endorsing the ownership, construction, and operation of the project.

The proposed offshore wind power project has an estimated total gross capacity of up to 100 megawatts, while each turbine is estimated to have around 4,000 kilowatts capacity.

Outside Iloilo City, the proposed project will cover approximately 5,346 hectares and four other towns in the Iloilo province, including Leganes, Zarraga, and Dumangas, and Buenavista town in Guimaras.

The project will also involve the construction and installation of a transmission line to connect the project’s wind farm component to a substation of the National Grid of the Philippines.