Solar energy seen as solution to Mindanao power crisis

MANILA, Philippines - The recurring blackouts in Mindanao could be fixed immediately by solar power plants because of the short timeframe required for their deployment and the ready availability of solar energy developers, top officials of the Philippine Solar Power Alliance (PSPA) said.

“The process of putting up solar power plants is the fastest among all energy technologies. A 10-megawatt (MW) solar power plant can be installed and commissioned in just six months or even less because it does not have fuel or other environmental concerns,” said Dennis Ibarra, PSPA president.

“This is in contrast to the multi-year construction phases of fossil fuel, large hydro and geothermal, and other emerging renewable energy (RE) power sources,” he said.

The speed of deploying solar power plants, according to Ibarra, can be attributed to more than 40 years of installation and connection experience by established companies which are now keen on investing in Mindanao.

“Moreover, local and international solar companies can produce at least 400 MW of electricity to deal with power shortages if the government allows them,” he said.

As of May this year, Ibarra said 40 local and international project applications were submitted to the Department of Energy (DOE), and “if these projects are allowed to produce 10 MW each, that’s already 400 MW of clean and renewable power,” said PSPA chairman Ramon Abaya of Cagayan de Oro City.

The power supply shortage has been causing intermittent outages in Mindanao throughout the year. Reports indicate that power reserve levels remain low at only 100 MW during peak hours.

Mindanao’s power generating capacity is heavily reliant on weather and water supply as about 50 percent of the electricity generated is from hydroelectric power plants.