Philippines approves three new wind farms for 208 megawatts - operational by 2015

The Philippines has approved three wind farm projects that will generate 208 megawatts, enough to power more than 40,000 middle-class homes, an energy official said.

The wind projects will be the first to benefit from an incentive scheme which aims to ensure half the country's energy comes from renewable sources by 2030, compared with about 39 percent currently, the official said.

The three projects are due to be operational by early 2015, said Mario Marasigan, the energy department's renewable energy bureau chief. "We approved their declarations of commerciality. They (guaranteed) to us that they are viable under the rate of 8.53 pesos (20 cents) per kilowatt hour," he said.

Under the incentive scheme, wind companies will get a fixed kilowatt hour rate of 8.53 pesos (20 cents) rather than a fluctuating amount. The provision is part of the 2008 renewable energy law intended to spur investment in sources including geothermal, biomass, solar, hydro and wind.

The largest of the projects is a wind farm to be set up in Burgos town, 320 kilometers north of Manila by Energy Development Corp. — the 87-megawatt project will cost an estimated $300 million, the company said in a statement.

Two other wind projects of 67.5 megawatts and 54 megawatts will also be set up by local firms, Alternergy Wind One Corp. and Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp., respectively. The two firms declined to disclose how much their projects would cost.

The Philippines already has one 33-megawatt wind power plant in the north, set up in 2005 before the renewable energy law was passed.

as published in Arab news

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International Migrants Alliance appeals for protection of Filipino workers in Taiwan

"Filipino migrants are innocent; they should be protected," the Hong Kong-based International Migrants Alliance said Saturday amid reports of continuing discrimination against and physical attacks on Filipino workers in Taiwan.

In a statement, IMA chair Eni Lestari called on the Manila and Taipei governments to immediately resolve diplomatically the conflict that arose from the May 9 killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine Coast Guard personnel.

"If any more untoward incident happens to any Filipino migrant in Taiwan because of this delay in resolution of the conflict, the IMA holds both the Taiwanese and Philippine governments responsible," she said.

Lestari, an Indonesian domestic worker, said IMA had also received reports of Filipino migrants experiencing physical harm and other discriminatory acts from Taiwanese locals.

"This should stop. No physical attack or any act of racist discrimination should be done or condoned," she said, adding, "The Filipino migrants in Taiwan do not only contribute to the welfare of their loved ones and families back home. They too contribute to the economy of Taiwan and attend to the needs of the families they work for in Taiwan."

Lestari said that while anger in Taiwan over the action of the Philippine government may be justified, the Taiwanese government should also be responsible for protecting the Filipino migrant workers residing on the island.

"We strongly urge Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou to strengthen protection for Filipino migrants and alert its respective agencies in extending support to anyone, especially Filipino migrants, who would experience any untoward incident," she said.

The IMA also warned against Taiwan closing the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, which acts as the Philippines' de facto embassy on the island. The group said withdrawing the Meco from Taiwan would only put the Filipino migrant workers in "grave danger."

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