Be your own electric company

When Robert Puckett started selling solar panels in 1976, the scientific community’s concern about greenhouse gasses was only beginning to heat up. Global warming wasn’t a household word then.

A grandson of the late former Vice President Fernando Lopez, Puckett was a devout reader of respected magazine Popular Mechanics, from which he learned about global warming being a bleak reality in the future.

However, preaching about alternative energy sources back then all through the 1980s and 1990s was like Noah warning about a coming deluge. Today, as nations band together to combat global warming – and with electricity, fuel prices and food prices going up – Puckett feels vindicated.

Puckett’s company, Solar Electric Company Inc. (Solarco), markets solar panels, small wind turbines and hydroelectric turbines that can be installed in small streams. They also sell solar-powered cell phone chargers, which should help reduce your electricity bill in the long run aside from providing renewable ready juice for your phone especially in times that you need it.

Solarco (www.solarelectric.com.ph) also manufactures electric-powered vehicles (EV), which resemble downsized jeepneys. With gas prices skyrocketing to record highs, the EVs’ show promise. In spite of that, the Land Transportation Office – for some unexplained reason – is taking months to go through its bureaucratic process and finally allow them on the road.

While it’s becoming more and more hip to go green, the Philippines has a long way to go before the renewable energy industry reaches full bloom.

One main reason is the cost. One solar panel, measuring about a yard long and one a half feet wide, produces 80 watts of electricity. The price tag: P30,000. Solarco assembles solar-powered lamp posts that are ideal for extremely remote rural areas. The price tag: P87,000.

“I always get queries everyday about our products,” Puckett relates. “Callers always sound enthusiastic about it. But when they learn how much it costs, they get discouraged.”

To lower the price of solar panels and other renewable energy systems, Puckett says the government should follow the footsteps of California by offering incentives aimed at promoting green energy. California has one of the world’s most comprehensive green energy programs. Toyota has already started introducing a hydrid electric-gas sedan, the Prius, in the United States initially in California.

No doubt, environment conservation awareness is improving in the Philippines – but at a slow pace. “Architects call us to ask about our systems,” Puckett says. “But they balk at the price because green energy systems could drive up construction costs.” Solarco tailors its products to meet the needs and budgets of prospective customers.

To help the green energy industry grow, Puckett suggests a five-year tax holiday for green energy startups, lower tariffs on imported solar panels and other renewable energy systems. At present, a renewable energy bill continues to languish in Congress. “The Philippines is advanced when it comes to renewable energy, but only in small ways.”

As the price of crude oil continues to post record highs and push up fuel prices, transportation costs, electricity rates and, ultimately, food prices, solar panels and other renewable energy systems offer businesses a sure way of cutting costs in the long run. Island Cove resort in Cavite bought an electric tram from Solarco to help visitors get around. University of Santo Tomas has a Solarco e-jeepney for its sprawling Manila campus.

Puckett emphasizes that the cost-saving benefits of green energy would not be immediately seen on electric bills. “People should look at them as long-term investments. Why wait for the situation to become a crisis?”