by Stephanie Tumampos - June 26,
2016
THE Philippines consumes a lot
of fossil-fuels every year. According to World Bank data, the country’s
fossil-fuel energy consumption is more than 60 percent in 2013. This means that
a lot of energy consumed comes from coal, oil, petroleum and natural gas.
Obet Verzola, author of the book
Crossing Over: the Energy Transition to Renewable Energy and executive director
of the Center for Renewable Electricity Strategies, talks about the benefits of
solar energy during the Greenpeace launch of the Solar Rooftop Challenge.
With this situation, Greenpeace
Philippines launched the digital campaign Solar Rooftop Challenge, where a
series of videos will be released to bust myths on renewable energy (RE).
“We will bust myths” through
social-media platforms, said Amalie Conchelle Hamoy-Obusan, country director of
Greenpeace Philippines. An RE exhibit will be held all over the country to
showcase the communities that have become RE users. It will also feature
photographs of people, churches, schools and even testimonials of homeowners
who have switched to solar power.
Small chunks give bigger
impacts
Republic Act 9513, or the Renewable
Energy Act, was passed in 2008 to accelerate the development of RE sources and
to encourage the increase in the use of these resources. Yet, most Filipinos
have little knowledge about RE sources. Unlike other RE sources, solar power
has given more flexibility to people.
“It is sold in small chunks… [which]
can provide you enough electricity to start with, and something that ordinary
people can participate in,” said Obet Verzola, author of the book Crossing
Over: the Energy
Transition to Renewable Energy and
executive director of Center for Renewable Electricity Strategies.
The solar irradiance of the
Philippines is far better than the world’s top solar-power producer, Germany,
Obusan said. “We generate more solar power for every square meter, and that
gives us that advantage,” she said.
Solar power from rooftops can be
scaled according to one’s needs and affordability. “A lot of homeowners start
really small and install one to two [solar] panels, simply to power the lights
at home,” Obusan told the BusinessMirror.
With that, homeowners could save and
use the savings to invest in additional solar panels so that more appliances
can be powered by solar energy.
Obusan also highlighted the many
financing options available in the market, but which most Filipinos are not
aware of.
“People are still not really aware
of the options they have in producing [solar] power,” Obusan said. “The aim
really is to bring to the people the practicality, affordability and
accessibility of solar power,” she added. The people have to be informed “to
hopefully make the choice of producing their own solar power,”she said.
Financing solar power
Prices of technologies often are
very expensive at the start but, in the long run, they eventually become
cheaper and affordable, including solar-energy utilities.
“Back when the cell phone was
introduced, it was very expensive. But years later, advancement in technologies
made it cheaper and affordable to people,” said Verzola.
Verzola added that at the price of
at least P900, a Filipino can buy a small solar panel that can charge a cell
phone. For the household, one could provide power to six LED lights from a
100-watt solar panel, which would cost about P5,000, according to Obusan.
“Although P5,000 might look
expensive, it will allow you to reduce consumption [from the main grid], and
provide savings that can increase your investment on renewable or solar-power
utilities,” Obusan said. Verzola agreed: “Prices of solar panels and batteries
are definitely seen to go down, and would be the future of the industry.”
Besides these, Greenpeace said
households would benefit more if they use solar-panel system.
“Actually, installing your own
[solar-power] system makes you aware of your own usage,” Obusan said.
“Therefore, you become much more earnest in how you consume energy, as well.”
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