A wind-plus storage pilot project on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines has been switched on that will provide a stable electricity supply to a location with a weak link to the electricity grid, and so cut a historic dependence on diesel for power generation.
The 16MW facility, which is being developed by turbine OEM Siemens Gamesa with Berkeley Energy, is expected to be in full operation in the second half of the year.
“The plant is a great example of Siemens Gamesa’s capabilities to offer energy solutions to areas with difficult access to an electricity grid,” said Warren Wilson, Siemens Gamesa’s onshore sales and marketing managing director.
”This plant will help the region to cut its diesel use and emissions, while using storage facilities to assure that people have access to clean energy when they need it. Hybrid solutions such as these, reduce the intermittency of renewable energy, and as such provide huge growth potential.”
Built around Siemens Gamesa 2MW turbines and a 6MW Gamesa lithium battery storage system, the facility could be expanded by a further 10MW.
