Burgos Wind Farm – Philippines

The Burgos Wind Project is the largest wind farm in the Philippines. At the time it was built in 2014, it was also considered to be one of the largest wind farms in South East Asia. It is located in one of the best areas in the country to generate clean energy from wind. The 150-MW facility has fifty (50) Vestas V90 wind turbines, each with a rated capacity of 3 MWs. The wind farm has a substation which is connected to a 43 KM 115 kV Transmission Line to the Laoag substation of the grid operator, the NGCP (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines).

Project Impact and Secondary Benefits:

Preventing Fossil Fuel Burn for Energy

The project produces clean energy and displaces generation from other sources that contribute pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions to the environment.

Education within the Community

The Burgos Wind Team leads projects and initiatives with the local governments and communities that promote the protection of the environment. Engaging and empowering the community is a critical objective of the Project. In fact, the team hosts a local radio program that discusses various topics with the local community, mostly on the protection and promotion of the environment.

Employment

During construction, the Burgos Wind Farm generated a significant number of jobs, and today employs over 600 staff in the on-going management and maintenance of the wind farm and energy sites.

Hydroelectric Power in the Amazon – Brazil

Maracanã is a run of river small hydropower plant with an installed capacity of 10.656 MW, located in Nova Marilândia, Brazil. It reduces an average of 17,183 tCO2 per year. The project activity has several social and environmental programs like providing historical data over soil and water quality of its area of influence. The Project is a run of river Small Hydropower Plant (SHP) with installed capacity of 10.656 MW. It can generate an average of 61,583 MWh per year, considering two Francis turbines, with horizontal axis, and two generator units. The project is connected to the Brazilian National Interconnected System.

Project Impact and Secondary Benefits:

Environmental Sustainability

The primary objective of the proposed project is to help meet Brazil’s rising demand for energy due to its economic growth and to improve the supply of electricity, while contributing to the environmental, social (job creation in the construction phase, and infrastructure enhancements in surrounding municipalities) and economic sustainability by increasing renewable energy’s share on the Brazilian electricity consumption. The Project activity improves the supply of electricity with clean, renewable hydroelectric power while contributing to the regional/local economic development. This renewable and cleaner source of electricity will also have an important contribution to environmental sustainability by reducing carbon dioxide emissions that would occur otherwise in the absence of the project. The project activity reduces emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) by avoiding electricity generation by fossil fuel plants connected to grid.

Economic Development

The project will contribute to improve the local economy conditions due to the use of renewable electricity, which reduces our dependence on fossil fuels, thus reducing the amount of pollution and the associated social costs related to it. It also contributes towards better working conditions and increases employment direct and indirect opportunities in the area where the project is located. The project provides 300 jobs in the region.

Social Development

Employment opportunities will increase in the area where the project is located, for construction as well as ongoing operation and maintenance of the plants. It will contribute to better working conditions and consequently will increase the revenue distribution and electricity purchasing of local population. It will also create new economic opportunities for the region, improving the electricity supplying conditions and the financial resources of the public administration of the city.

Rice Husk Power Project – Cambodia

The Angkor Bio Cogen (ABC) project is the first renewable energy project to utilize rice husk as biomass fuel for electricity generation in Cambodia, involves the operation of 2 MW new rice husk power generation plant in the Kandal province. The electricity generated from biomass power plant to the Angkor Rice Mill that, in absence of the project activity, uses diesel oil to generate electricity for the rice mill operation. Besides from this, ABC provides surplus electricity to neighbouring factories and community through the power utility in Angsnoul District that, in the absence of the project activity, use diesel oil or batteries for their uses.

Project Impact and Secondary Benefits:

Emissions Reductions

The project achieves GHG emissions reduction in three ways:

1. The GHG reduction is achieved through the use of rice husk which was previously left to decay in the open space, resulting in methane emissions;
2. The generated power is exported to the rice mill, which partially replaces power generated by their captive diesel power generator, contributing to GHG emissions associated with the diesel power plant;
3. The surplus generated power is supplied to the local power utility, providing electricity to the community living outside the project premises.

Social Development

The Project has contributed to the improvement of economic, social and environmental well-being of the community through providing reliable electricity access to the rice mill as well as the neighbouring business and community.