With the successful commissioning of the 150MegaWatt wind farm of the EDC Burgos Wind Power Corporation in Ilocos Norte last November 5, 2014 and SM North EDSA being dubbed the world's largest solar-powered mall as of November 24 of last year, anyone will agree that both are significant steps to providing solutions to our country's growing power shortage crisis.
The 600-hectare wind farm project in Luzon which encompassed three barangays namely: Saoit, Poblacion and Nagsurot is now successfully delivering power to the transmission system, and is expected to power over a million households. Considered the largest in South East Asia, it is also expected to provide hundreds of jobs for its operations which will surely help a lot of our fellowmen, aside from the ecomic boost to the country. Being a clean renewable form of energy, it produces absolutely no pollutants and consumes no water, which is also a great help in our efforts to combat pollution and water shortage.
Meanwhile, SM North EDSA has finally switched on its solar panels which were installed in the mall rooftop, and the 1.5MegaWatt electricity generated is said to power up to 5% of the mall's electrical requirements. According to sources, the project can deload about 57.9MegaWatts during critical times -- not enough to totally solve the power shortage but definitely a significant step forward, which is why the government is encouraging other businesses to follow suit.
This is most beneficial in a country like ours who has for sometime searched for ways to address the issue of energy crisis which is expected to become really critical as of 2015. The nationwide blackouts not only affect households and establishments but the economy as well for it apparently turns off investors. Our country too, is said to have the most expensive electricity in SouthEast Asia, but with solar and wind energy as unlimited energy resources, this can mean affordable electricity for the Filipinos in the future.
Did You Know: Wind energy is created by using wind to turn wind turbines (modern version of windmills with propeller-like blades around a rotor), which spin a shaft connected to a generator which in turn, makes electricity. This electricity is then distributed through transmission lines. If a single wind turbine can power up at least 300 homes, it is easy to imagine how a million households can be powered up by several interconnected wind turbines. These turbines, located in sites where winds are prevalent, usually have three blades sitting atop a steel tower which ranges from 80feet to 260feet tall, optimizing the capture of natural wind.
"Solar panel electricity systems, also known as solar photovoltaics (PV), capture the sun's energy using photovoltaic cells. These cells don't need direct sunlight to work – they can still generate some electricity on a cloudy day. The cells convert the sunlight into electricity, which can be used to run household appliances and lighting." -- energysavingtrust.org.uk
