Use of windmills in aquafarms pushed

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is endorsing the use of windmills in aquaculture farms.

The use of windmills in fishpond and hatchery operations is part of BFAR’s strategy to address the high cost of fuel.

The BFAR recently showcased in its regional research facility in Davao its first windmill-operated pump in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley Province.

In a report to Agrciulture Secretary Arthur C. Yap, BFAR Director Malcolm I. Sarmiento, Jr. said the 30-foot 32-blade windmill would supply the water requirements for a 4,005-square meter fishpond subdivided into three hapa-based hatchery ponds, two conditioning ponds and one hapa-based nursery pond.

The regional aquaculture center produces a total of 2.3 million tilapia fingerlings annually and disperses 1.85 million fingerlings in communal bodies of water.

It caters to some 600 to 1000 backyard fishponds in the locality.

According to Sarmiento, the windmill-operated reciprocating pump has a pumping capacity of 45-60 gallons per minute, roughly equivalent to the output of three units of two horsepower submersible pumps.

Sarmiento explained that the use of windmill results in substantial savings in electricity cost. He noted that in Pampanga, pond owners spend around P15,000 per hectare per month for their electric-operated water pumps.

Sarmiento pointed out that although the cost of windmill fabrication and installation comes up to P302,000, its maintenance cost for greasing is only P150 every six months. The life span of the windmill is 15 years under normal operating conditions.

Nabunturan Municipal Mayor Macario Humol expressed optimism that the windmill project would be replicated by local stakeholders as this uses clean energy.

Humol agreed that the project could serve as a learning center for students to appreciate the use of renewable energy in reducing dependence on traditional fuels like gasoline. Two more windmills are in the pipeline for use in BFAR facilities this year.

One will be put up soon at the National Freshwater Fisheries Technology Center in the Science City of Muñoz and the other will be in Region 2.