A Filipino-American renewable energy expert is looking into investing in the development of wind farm in Negros Occidental, which has among the highest wind resources in the Philippines .

Larry Asera, chairman and chief executive officer of the California-based Asera Group Inc., which put up the 6.67-megawatt solar power plant in Puerto Princesa City, discussed his company's initiatives during a forum on the “Development of Renewable Energy Alternatives and Opportunities for Power Security in Negros Occidental” Saturday at the Provincial Capitol.

“This is one of the greatest wind areas, there should be people like us investing here to provide clean wind power,” said Asera, who described himself as “a grandson of Negros sugarcane workers.”

Like in Ilocos Norte, which has a 25-megawatt wind farm in Bangui Bay , Negros Occidental has a high wind potential, he said.

“You have the exactly same wind gradient and the potential in terms of amount of power and amount of megawatts you can generate,” Asera said.

In San Carlos City , the Smith Bell Group of Companies and Global Renewable Energy Partners of Denmark has started the development of a 30-MW wind farm, but the project has yet to proceed to its next phase.

The San Carlos Wind Power Corp. is being eyed as the second wind farm in Southeast Asia, next to Bangui Bay .

Bago City and Cauayan have also been identified by the Department of Energy as potential sites for wind farm.

Asera, in his presentation, cited a study of the World Wildlife Fund and the DOE indicating that the Philippines has 1,078 wind sites that has a total of 7,400 MW capacity. Three hundred wind sites are found in Visayas.

Asera said there is a need to raise consciousness and education on renewable energy sources. “It is viable and there are private investors like us. It's not only clean and green. It's affordable. It's also deployable. It can be done now.”

He added: ”We're in the business of generating clean electrons. We build power plants and if a local government unit is willing to buy green electrons, we're willing to sell it. We're willing to invest here.”

Asera said his company will give it a go once there is social and political acceptance, available land, and the permitting requirements are in place.

VIABLE ALTERNATIVE

He said renewable energy resources are a viable alternative to fossil-fuel for providing clean and green power to local electrical grid or for peaking power plants.

Asera also said that utility-scale, ranging between 1 and 25 MW, renewable energy technology is now economically competitive with diesel fuel and coal-fired power plants.

It will also promote a greater energy self-sufficiency by utilizing country's abundant indigenous renewable energy resources, he added.

“I've seen the awareness about green happen more in the last 12 months….More than a clamor, it's a movement. There's a movement for people demanding clean power (and) demanding alternative but they haven't seen it, and so when I do my presentation, (I) show what we've done in the United States that you can actually generate power with solar,” Asera added.*NLG

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