Stakeholders are pushing for a wider use of solar power projects in off-grid areas as two different programs benefitted far-flung communities.
CORA Philippines, Greenpeace Philippines and the local government of Barangay Coring in Dinagat Islands installed 4,800 watts of solar panels in the community’s gymnasium after the diesel-powered electric generator in the area failed to restore power during and after Typhoon Odette last year.
“Investments in clean energy will protect communities. The findings of the National Inquiry on Climate Change report recognize that a just transition to renewable energy (RE) and an end to fossil fuel dependence is necessary and urgent if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and protect Filipinos’ lives and rights,” said Virginia Benosa-Llorin, Greenpeace campaigner, in a statement.
Benosa-Llorin said since climate impacts continue to affect the most vulnerable sectors like the families in barangay Coring, the new administration must tap the country’s massive potential for RE development.
Meanwhile, Vivant Foundation, sequa gGmbH and Process-Bohol’s project that energized 16 off-grid schools and provided livelihood to 12 women’s organizations through solar energy was recognized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).
ECCP awarded the Europa Awards 2022 for Clean and Green Energy to Project Renewable Energy for Livelihood and Youth (RELY), which installed solar energy that now powers off-grid and remote schools in Cebu, Bohol and Palawan.
With the completion of the European Union-funded Project RELY, Vivant Foundation is also pushing to expand its off-grid solar energization projects in Coron, Palawan with Project Liadlaw.
The said project will combine solar energization and the upgrading of the Electrical Installation and Maintenance track of a nearby senior high school to ensure proper maintenance and repair of the solar installation by training a pool of students who will be capable of such task.
As of end-2021, the country’s total installed on-grid capacity of solar energy is at 1,317 megawatts (MW) equivalent to 4.9 percent of the mix. Total installed off-grid solar capacity for the similar period was at 7.46 MW or 1.2 percent of the mix. – Jed Macapagal
