On the way back to Laoag City, we happened to pass by one unique sight. It is the Bangui Bay Wind Farm. This place is located in the town of Bangui in Ilocos Norte. This green project set up 15 turbines along the stretch of Bangui Bay. The place is perfect for wind energy generating projects since area is undeveloped and uninhabited. This is the Philippines’ first wind farm and it also the largest in South East Asia.
We took a tricycle to bring us to the windmills. I wasn’t really expecting to see something like that here in the Philippines, where the main bulk of power generation is done by geothermal or coal energy. Seeing this really impresses me. When we got to the beach where the windmills are set up, I realized how perfect the location was. The wind was certainly very strong and it is a wonder they didn’t set up more in the area.
The windmills were all neatly lined up along the shores of the bay all facing the South China Sea. Upon closer inspection of one of the windmills, it amazed me to see how huge the pillar actually was. And despite the huge turbines that turn with the wind, the turbines make no sound at all. One of the main concerns with wind generated energy is it fluctuates. If there is no wind, there is no energy. So unless the energy is stored somewhere, maybe batteries or capacitors, it is not exactly that reliable yet. However, there is no denying that it is very clean and pollution free.
Northern Philippines is well suited for harnessing wind energy since the winds up here are quite strong and being in the typhoon belt, it will surely generate a huge amount of energy when big storms come. There are already a host of studies on the suitability of other sites within the country to harness wind energy.
It is surprising how a power plant can become a tourist attraction here. You can actually just go to the windmills and have your photo taken. Unfortunately, there is no way for visitors to go up the towers, I’m sure the view will be great that high up.
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