TACLOBAN CITY – Residents of Calbayog City and environmental advocates have succeeded in getting five proposed wind turbines removed from the city’s protected watershed, following months of opposition to the project over concerns about its possible impact on water sources and biodiversity.
Vena Energy, through its local subsidiary Gemini Wind Energy Corp., confirmed the cancellation of the five turbines originally planned within the Calbayog Pan-as-Hayiban Protected Landscape (CPHPL), also known as the Calbayog Watershed.
The company presented an updated technical layout showing that the affected turbines would instead be relocated outside the protected landscape, according to city officials.
The decision followed months of advocacy by the Save Calbayog Rivers Foundation and other civil society groups, which raised concerns over the potential effects of wind turbine construction and related infrastructure on the watershed.
Calbayog Mayor Raymund Uy said the city supports renewable energy development but maintained that projects should not compromise the protection of critical environmental resources.
The CPHPL is considered a major water source for Calbayog City. The city’s comprehensive land-use plan identifies the Pan-as Hayiban watershed as the primary source of water for residents, industry and commerce. The watershed also contains rivers, caves, forests and several waterfalls, including Pan-as, Diit, Cagdaras and Ton-ok falls.
The protected landscape covers about 5,068 hectares and includes areas with steep and mountainous terrain.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ protected-area information system notes that portions with slopes of 30 percent and above are particularly sensitive to disturbance because of their susceptibility to soil erosion, landslides and loss of soil stability.
The proposed wind project is part of a larger renewable-energy development planned along the Calbayog City-San Isidro, Northern Samar area. Project documents have described the development as a 304-megawatt wind farm involving dozens of turbines.
The controversy centered on the proposed location of some turbines within the protected landscape.
Project proponents have maintained that renewable-energy facilities may be developed in portions of protected areas where such activities are allowed, provided that the required environmental and regulatory approvals are secured.
Gemini Wind Energy Corp. has also disputed claims that its proposed facilities would be located in the strict protection zone, saying its planned installations were within the multiple-use zone.
The cancellation therefore does not mean that the entire wind project has been abandoned.
Instead, the company has revised the location of the five turbines that had been planned inside the protected landscape, allowing the larger wind-energy development to proceed outside the watershed.
Environmental advocates and residents, however, continue to monitor other components of the project because of concerns over possible effects on forests, waterways and communities surrounding the development area.
The Calbayog case is part of a wider debate in the country over the expansion of renewable-energy projects and the protection of environmentally sensitive areas.
Vena Energy has also faced community concerns over wind-energy developments in Rizal. Its subsidiary, Island Wind Energy Corp., is developing the 218.75-megawatt Talim Wind Power Project in Binangonan and Cardona, Rizal, according to Department of Energy records. The project has an Environmental Compliance Certificate listed in the DENR Environmental Management Bureau database.
Residents of Talim Island have nevertheless raised concerns over construction and land clearing, including alleged flooding and environmental impacts. These are claims made by residents and environmental groups and have been the subject of continuing public debate.
In another Rizal project, the Masungi Georeserve Foundation in 2024 raised concerns over drilling activities associated with the planned Rizal Wind Power Project in the Masungi Karst Conservation Area.
Vena Energy said at the time that it had obtained the necessary permits, including an Environmental Compliance Certificate, and remained open to dialogue with stakeholders.
The Calbayog development illustrates the continuing challenge of balancing the country’s push for renewable energy with the protection of watersheds and other environmentally sensitive areas.
For Calbayog, the immediate issue has been resolved with the relocation of the five turbines outside the protected landscape, while the broader wind project remains in development.
City officials and environmental advocates have called for continued scientific and environmental assessment as renewable-energy infrastructure is developed around the watershed, including studies on hydrology and biodiversity to ensure that the area’s water resources and ecological functions are protected.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
