By Freddie G. Lazaro

Laoag City, Ilocos Norte — Provincial officials approved recently a resolution declaring Ilocos Norte as the first coal-free province in the country.

This development serves as a testament to the province’s support for the national government’s commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), through the Conference of Parties 21 (COP21), to reduce carbon emissions by 70% from expected levels by 2030.

In its 7th regular session held last August 15, the Sangguniang Provincial Board unanimously approved Provincial Resolution No. 017-2016, authored by environment committee chairman Mariano Marcos III, declaring Ilocos Norte as a “clean, green and coal-free province.”

The resolution, approved by Governor Imee Marcos on Aug. 22, 2016, also seeks the elimination of coal from the province’s power supply.

“No office or instrumentality of the provincial government of Ilocos Norte shall issue any permit, authorization, endorsement or any expression of support to the development of coal projects in the province,” the resolution said.

The board encouraged all 21 municipalities and the two cities of the province to refrain from issuing coal permits.

The resolution was backed by environmental advocacy groups, as well as the province’s largest electric companies. It also makes Ilocos Norte the first province to phase out coal use and become a total renewable energy consumer.

With its solar, wind and hydroelectric energy sources, Ilocos Norte is already generating about 50 percent of its power requirement from clean or renewable energy.

With a 283-MW installed wind energy capacity as of 2015, Ilocos Norte is already dubbed the undisputed wind energy capital of the Philippines. Since 2010 local government initiatives have paved the way for Ilocos Norte to become home to the 150-megawatt (MW) wind-power project of Energy Development Corporation (EDC), a unit of First Gen Corp., in Burgos; the 81-MW Caparispisan wind station of Northern Luzon UPC Asia Corp.; and the 52-MW Bangui wind project of Northwind Power and Development Corporation.

The province is also emerging as the country’s – if not Southeast Asia’s – renewable energy capital with the further development of the 5 MW Agua Grande hydroelectric power plant in Pagudpud and solar farms like the 20 MW solar power facility of Soleq Philippines, Inc. in Barangay Paguludan in Currimao, and the 4.1 MW and 2.6 MW solar farms in Burgos of EDC.