Solar Philippines eyes mini grids in 12 towns
TWELVE remote towns in the Philippines, including four municipalities in popular tourist destination Palawan, are the possible sites for mini grids to be developed by Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings, Inc.
In a statement on Monday, Solar Philippines said its “Solar Para Sa Bayan” project is bringing 24/7 power to 12 towns “for the first time in their history” in response to the government’s call for the private sector to contribute to ending “energy poverty” in the country.
“Our aim is not to make the most profit, but to help the greatest number of our fellow Filipinos,” said Solar Philippines President Leandro L. Leviste.
He identified six towns in the statement, namely: Paluan and Lubang in Occidental Mindoro province; Dumaran in Palawan; Claveria in Masbate; Calayan in Cagayan; and Dingalan in Aurora.
He did not enumerate the other six, but in a Senate hearing earlier this month, he identified 12 towns, including Busuanga, Coron and El Nido in Palawan; Divilacan and Maconacon in Isabela; and San Pascual in Masbate.
Sought to validate the names of the 12 towns, Mr. Leviste said via e-mail: “For others on your list, I can confirm these are also on our list.”
He added the 12 towns indicated in his statement “have already energized or will energize within the next 30 days (weather permitting).”
Around 200,000 residents are expected to benefit from these projects, the first time a private company will energize a big number of households at zero cost to the government, he said.
“In terms of what will be completed by end of 2018, however, we [are] targeting at least double as many towns to benefit a total of 500,000 Filipinos, which is much more than existing rural electrification efforts, and at zero cost to government,” Mr. Leviste said via e-mail.
In March 2018, “Solar Para Sa Bayan” installed a solar-battery mini grid for Paluan, Mindoro to bring 24-hour power to the town for the first time. The company described the project as Southeast Asia’s largest using the technology and the first in Asia to feature Powerpacks from Tesla, a leading supplier of batteries and electric vehicles.
Solar Philippines said it was building hybrid mini grids in line with a plan by the Office of the President to issue an executive order to encourage private investment in rural electrification.
Mr. Leviste said he was hopeful that other stakeholders would also support such initiatives and help the Department of Energy achieve total electrification target by 2022.
The entry of private entities in some remote areas is a contentious issue for electric cooperatives that hold the legislative franchise to serve them.
The Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the planned mini grids, or small-scale power grids that can be operated independently from the country’s interconnected network of power transmission facilities. —