Published
By Myrna M. Velasco
Transmission firm
National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has cemented a partnership
with the University of the Philippines Los Baños Foundation, Inc. (UPLBFI) for
the deployment of renewable energy (RE) technologies for communities that have
yet to advance on their energy access.
Via NGCP’s “Green Spark
Program”, it sealed a three-component program with UPLBFI that will help
address communities’ need for transportation and power source that will be
leaning on RE resource deployments.
The target is for the
UPLBFI and NGCP to develop energy systems that shall be intact – especially on
power source, even in times of calamities.
As indicated by NGCP, the project will enable the parties to develop RE-based
stand-alone technologies that shall be tailor-fitted to communities, the pilot
venture of which will be Barangay Macabud, a village in Rizal province.
The pilot site, it was
noted, “has no source of electricity but hosts two of NGCP’s transmission
lines” chiefly the 500-kilovolt San Jose-Tayabas and 230kV San Jose-Taytay
lines.
Both transmission
facilities are serving bulk of the power capacity being wheeled to end-users in
Metro Manila – from various generating plants in the Luzon grid.
For the energy access
of the targeted village, NGCP emphasized that it recently turned over one
electric integrated solar and wind charging station; one electric hand tractor
with cargo trailer; and four electric tricycles.
“The charging station will provide a renewable source of electricity,” the
transmission firm said, adding that “the tractor will allow the community to
boost agricultural production,” while the e-tricyle will be the community’s
means of mobility.
The beneficiary-barangay
has more than 10,000 residents – and their subsistence heavily relies on
agriculture, hence, during rainy season, “the dirt roads and rolling terrain
will make it difficult for farmers to transport their harvests.”’
Relative to this
initiative, NGCP noted that it also pursued partnership with UP “to empower
marginalized sectors of its host communities of opportunities for
self-reliance” – the focus of which had been on skills training and livelihood
programs.
The transmission
company further emphasized that under the program, array of activities had been
carried out – delving on: skills on bamboo and buri handicrafts; welding;
sewing; baking; cooking; meat processing; food processing; cacao nursery;
herbs, vegetables and ornamental plants gardening; micropoultry; bread making;
clay pottery; vinegar making; as well as snack and dessert preparation.
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