October 3, 2018 | 12:05 am
WINNERGY Holdings Corp. commissioned
last week a 10-kilowatt-peak (kWp) floating solar farm on Laguna Lake within
Baras, Rizal province, the company said on Tuesday.
Winnergy said the project is the
first floating solar farm in the Philippines, thus opening the possibility of
using energy from the sun beyond the traditional ground-based and
rooftop-mounted systems.
The company said it aims to show the
technical feasibility of floating solar technology in the country. The
technology involves deploying solar photovoltaic panels on the surface of a
body of water.
In a statement, Winnergy President
Janina Bonoan said one of the advantages of floating solar farms over
ground-mounted solar facilities is that no farm or forest lands are used. No
trees are required to be cut, she added.
“Floating solar farms also mitigate
water evaporation and the proliferation of algae in the lake, and may help
aquatic/marine life flourish,” the company said.
Ms. Bonoan said the project has the
potential to improve the community and boost local tourism and economy.
She said floating solar farms are
more technically efficient than ground-mounted projects because the cooling
effect of the surrounding water on the panels makes the panels produce more
energy.
Winnergy said the pilot project
would provide free renewable energy to the municipality of Baras. The solar
farm is equipped with a battery storage system that ensures a sustainable power
flow.
Ahead of the solar farm’s
commissioning, Winnergy along with the town and the Laguna Lake Development Authority
(LLDA) signed on Aug. 14 a tripartite memorandum of agreement for the pilot
project. — Victor V. Saulon
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