(Photos by Archie Abong)
“HOT” is something uttered by a lot of people in the months that passed. And we don’t need the figures to assume that temperatures have reached an all-time high in the Philippines this dry season.
Well, maybe not in this island province of Guimaras, 15 minutes away from Iloilo City in Western Visayas, where wind turbines generating electricity are found. Talk about giant electric fans cooling a once sleepy town!
To get there, we were led to a pump boat, and after 15 minutes, we docked at the port of Buenavista, one of the two entry points of this province, the other being in the town of Jordan, where most of the white-sand beaches are. Small passenger boats to the island province are on hand every 30 minutes.
Less than an hour later, entering the town of San Lorenzo, we were met by dinosaur-like giants… 27 of them flapping their sharp wings and towering over us.
Guimaras is well known for its sweet mango plantations, bike trails, and white sand beaches. And now construction for 54 windmills have been rolled out in the province.
Of these, 27 units have been erected in the town of San Lorenzo, which is in the western part of the island province.
The San Lorenzo Windmills, measuring 80 meters tall and 40 meters wide on the other hand, tower like skyscrapers in the vast land. Each wind turbine blade is capable of generating 2 megawatts of electricity, for a total of 54 megawatts, which is more than enough to cater the 13-megawatt power supply needed for the whole province.
The remaining energy is used to provide energy to neighboring provinces loilo and Negros Oriental.
Still in Guimaras, 14 more units have been hoisted in the town of Sibunag and the last 13 units at the town of Nueva Valencia.
If you happen to find yourself in Western Visayas, say in Iloilo or Negros, consider checking out Guimaras.
You bet these winged giants will be there to greet you as you enter the town of San Lorenzo.
