On August 25, Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa took part in an online inauguration ceremony for a 10kW Magnus Vertical Axis Wind Turbine installed in Basco, Batanes by Challenergy, a Japanese startup firm based in Tokyo.
Batanes Governor Marilou Cayco, Basco Mayor Demetrius Paul Narag, Challenergy Founder and CEO Atsushi Shimizu, and Challenergy Philippines CEO Paul Michael Robles were also in attendance for the ceremony on Batan Island.
The newly installed technology was made feasible thanks to funding from the Japanese government. In 2019, Challenergy began development on the Batanes project. Despite the problems posed by the pandemic, its construction was finished between April and August of this year.
Challenergy’s innovative wind turbine can function in high winds and promises a new energy opportunity for areas with significant wind potential but are hampered by typhoon risk.
The microgrid system based on this technology is projected to increase energy access even during typhoons and to improve the livelihood of the people of the Philippines.