The Balaoi & Caunayan Wind Farm is an onshore wind farm project under construction by AC Energy in partnership with UPC Renewables in the Philippines. AC Energy is a Philippines-based power generation company, while UPC Renewables is an independent renewable energy company headquartered in Hong Kong.
The project represents AC Energy’s third wind power development in the province of Ilocos Norte. The other two projects include the NorthWind wind farm in Bangui and the North Luzon Renewables wind farm in Pagudpud.
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Upon completion, the Balaoi & Caunayan wind farm will be the largest in the Philippines. It will contribute towards AC Energy’s goal of increasing its renewable energy portfolio to 5,000MW by 2025.
The PHP11.4bn ($238.48m) project will become a low-cost renewable energy producer for the Philippines. It is expected to support inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Ilocos Norte by creating job opportunities, which will help the local community.
Construction of the new wind farm in Ilocos Norte is currently ongoing, with completion scheduled for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022. The Balaoi & Caunayan Wind Farm is expected to become fully operational in 2023.
Balaoi & Caunayan wind farm location and details
The Balaoi & Caunayan Wind Farm project is located in Barangays Balaoi and Caunayan, Pagudpud, in the Philippines.
The project will involve the installation of 32 onshore wind turbines, comprising 18 SG 5.0-145 units and 14 SG 5.0-132 units. Each turbine will have a rated power generation capacity of 5MW.
Balaoi & Caunayan wind farm turbine details
The SG 5.0-132 wind turbine is the high-wind variant of Spanish turbine supplier Siemens Gamesa’s 4.X platform, which is the basis for a new generation of turbines designed to deliver optimal levelised cost of energy (LCoE) for turbines with a nominal power rating of 4MW.
The turbine features a rotor with a diameter of 132m and swept area of 13,685m². The turbine has a tower height of 84m and 64.5m-long blades made of epoxy resin-reinforced fibreglass.
The SG 5.0-145, with a rotor diameter of 145m and swept area of 16,513m², is the latest addition to the 4.X platform. The 71m-long rotor blades are made of fibreglass reinforced with epoxy resin. The tower height of the SG 5.0-145 series varies from 90m to 127.5m, based on site requirements.
Balaoi & Caunayan wind farm power transmission
The power generated from the Balaoi & Caunayan wind farm will be transferred to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) through its Laoag substation. The interconnection process involves connection to the existing DC section of the North Luzon Renewable Energy (NLR) line in Bangui through a 15km-long transmission line.
The 15km portion of the 58km-long NLR line is planned to be constructed from the Balaoi & Caunayan wind farm to Bangui, where the NLR line’s existing DC section ends.
The 43km-long, currently unstrung circuit of the DC section will be strung with a conductor to complete the interconnection to the NGCP-owned Laoag substation.
Contractors involved in the Philippines’ largest wind farm
Siemens Gamesa was contracted to supply its SG 5.0-132 and SG 5.0-145 series of onshore turbines for the wind project in May 2021. It will also provide operation and maintenance services to ensure optimised performance for five years.
