By: Ronnel W. Domingo - 05:10
AM February 18, 2019
Manila Electric Co. has switched on
a 32-kilowatt solar panel microgrid in Isla Verde, a project done in
partnership with the Batangas City local government and the United States
Agency for International Development.
The microgrid inaugurated on Feb.
15, which operates independently from the power transmission grid, so far
provides electricity to 30 households on the island between Batangas and
Mindoro.
Isla Verde is six kilometers away
from Batangas shores and has been dependent on diesel-fired power generator
sets that give them electricity from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
According to Meralco, this
project—its first solar microgrid—supports the company’s initiatives toward
using more sustainable energy sources and highlights efforts on rural
electrification.
“This is the fulfillment of our
promise to provide electric service to the people of Isla Verde,” Meralco
senior vice president Ronnie Aperocho said in a statement.
“The project was intentionally
pursued using green energy, and with a safe and sustainable supply of power,
another Batangas destination will be given the opportunity to further develop,”
Aperocho said.
While Isla Verde attracts foreign
visitors, especially divers, the development of tourism infrastructure there
has been hampered by inadequate power supply.
Aperocho said the microgrid would
not only provide much needed power for the island’s six barangays, it would
also contribute to efforts on reducing carbon emissions as well as the push for
missionary electrification in areas where electricity was not available round
the clock.
In a study conducted for the
Philippines in 2017, the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency
(Irena) recommended that increasing access to both equity and loan financing
would help advance off-grid renewable energy development, especially if more
small operators were to enter the market.
“The government can both provide
this funding directly and stimulate investment from private-sector financial
institutions,” Irena said.
“The NEA (National Electrification
Administration), for example, should allocate a portion of its rural
electrification grant funding to support off-grid development, instead of
solely supporting line extension,” the agency added.
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