LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte—NorthWind Power Development Corp. has asked the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to pursue the North Luzon transmission line loop to handle the capacity of wind projects.
NorthWind chairman Niels Jacobsen told reporters the North Luzon loop would not only encourage other power projects but also enhance transmission security.
“In all other countries in the world, you would always have a loop for security reasons. It would make very much sense to loop it. If they [National Grid] loop it, then we can proceed with the projects,” he said.
NGCP earlier planned to develop the North Luzon loop that will connect Luzon grid’s northwestern and northeastern 230-kilovolt sections to accommodate the capacity of wind projects in Ilocos Norte and Cagayan.
NorthWind is developing wind projects in Aparri, Cagayan and Pamplona, Cagayan which have combined potential capacity of up to 80 megawatts of wind energy.
NorthWind’s subsidiaries are undertaking the new projects. NorthPoint Wind Power Corp. will develop the 40-megawatt wind project along the shoreline of Barangay Dodan in Aparri, Cagayan.
NorthPoint is expected to spend $95 million for the Aparri wind project, which will consist of 20 to 25 wind turbines.
Meanwhile, NorthEast Wind Systems Corp. will construct the 40-MW wind farm in Pamplona, Cagayan, which will consist of 16 turbines of 1.65-MW capacity each. NorthEast will sell electricity to the Luzon Grid.
Jacobsen said the two projects could be bigger than NorthWind’s existing 52-MW Bangui wind project. “It could be much bigger than we have… We actually thought this looping of the line would happen much earlier,” he said.
He said developers were hesitant to put up power projects because of the lack of transmission facility, but National Grid was also cautious on putting up the lines if the projects would not push through.
“It is very much a chicken and egg situation. I, as developer would not want to put up a wind farm if in case it cannot generate. NGCP, on the other hand, is also hesitant and would have a problem in getting it approved by ERC to put up a big transmission line if there’s no use for it,” he said.