HYBRID DIESEL-SOLAR PLANTS LAUNCHED IN TAWI-TAWI
TO IMPROVE residents’ access to reliable renewable energy sources and boost the island-province’s economy, top national, provincial and donor agency officials launched on Thursday, February 28, two solar PV diesel hybrid power plant projects in the coastal communities of Sibutu and Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi.
The launching ceremony was led by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Provincial Government of Tawi-Tawi, Department of Energy, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU).
The two hybrid power plants are under the Renewable Energy Technology for seaweeds value added in Tawi-Tawi (RETS) Project, which aims to provide 1.65 megawatts of renewable energy to village folk in the project’s target areas.
The power facilities are expected to provide reliable electricity to 2,000-5,000 households, including community and health centers in the municipalities of Sibutu and Sitangkai, as well as neighboring island-communities.
Socio Economic impact
During the launching ceremony Tawi-Tawi Governor Yshmael Sali emphasized the significance of the RETS Project to the province, particularly how it will help uplift the lives of people in the beneficiary communities by creating more sustainable economic opportunities.
“This project has a generational impact. In remote areas of the island municipalities. Electricity is a luxury. With the electricity generated by the RETS Project, children can study and do their homeworks at night under the bright lights,” Sibutu Vice Mayor Alshefa J. Pajiji noted.
“This will inspire more economic activity in our municipality, providing more comfort and convenience to us, encouraging more local trade and tourism for us,” Pajiji added.
Presidential Peace Adviser Sec. Carlito Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. who took part in the unveiling ceremony, underscored the socioeconomic benefits the project will provide to the people who, for many years, have dreamed of having access to a stable power supply.
“The RETS Project provides a very good opportunity to transform the lives of residents, particularly seaweed farmers, by improving their access to energy and expanding prospects for better livelihood and higher incomes,” Galvez said.
RETS Project
Through the RETS Project, two water supply feasibility studies were conducted to help the Provincial Government of Tawi-Tawi and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) develop a reliable water supply system. Electricity and water are valuable components in seaweed production.
The project also conducted a value-chain analysis on Tawi-Tawi seaweed products to further enhance the province’s seaweed industry, and consequently, improve socioeconomic conditions in the communities.
Aquaculture is among the primary sources of livelihood of Tawi-Tawi’s residents. However the limited energy supply in most of the province’s municipalities has been a perennial challenge faced by seaweed farmers, which has limited their capacity to produce high-quality products to meet market demands.
The RETS Project, which is being facilitated by MinDA and supported by the European Union and the United Nations Development Organization, seeks to benefit around 3,500 seaweed farmers in Tawi-Tawi.
The project is also being implemented in collaboration with the Mindanao State University Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography, Tawi-Tawi Electric Cooperative, and the Association of Island Electric Cooperatives-Island Light and Water Development Corporation (AIEC-ILAW).
According to Asec. Romeo Montenegro, MinDA deputy director, their journey towards the implementation of the RETS project has been “six years in the making.”
Montenegro emphasized that the project is designed to “not only to improve electrification in the BARMM, particularly in Tawi-Tawi, but also to support the government’s move towards the peace process.” /