Butuan City wants NG to install solar farms to address power-supply woes

12 August 2011

Paul Anthony A. Isla / Reporter

THE Butuan City government on Thursday blamed the unstable supply of

electricity in Mindanao that has forced some businesses and industries to be

on standby mode.

To address the shortage, Butuan City Mayor Ferdinand Amante Jr. urged the

national government to kick off the setting up of solar farms in Mindanao.

Amante said the government could take advantage of the short gestation of

solar-power technology as businesses in Mindanao are stagnating due to the

unstable supply of power.

Amante's statement came a week after the Philippine Solar Power Alliance

(PSPA) claimed that the recurring brownouts in Mindanao could be fixed by

solar power with the shorttime frame needed to deploy such technologies.

He said Butuan City has incurred an income of P220 million in end-July

coming from a P23-million deficit.

"We fear we may lose our gains unless the stability of electricity is

restored. Tourists and investors are not coming to Mindanao because of

persistent power shortages," he said.

Amante said inadequate power supply has caused recurring brownouts in most

provinces in Mindanao, particularly in the Caraga Region, Iligan, Cotabato

and Davao, as power-reserve levels remain low at only 100 megawatts (MW)

during peak hours.

He said the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines has even implemented this

month a grid-wide power-load reduction in Mindanao due to insufficient

generation from power plants.

According to the reports, Amante said 92 MW to 150 MW have been withdrawn

from the grid as a result of the forced outages of generating facilities.

Mindanao's power-generating capacity is heavily reliant on water supply as

about 50 percent of the electricity generated is sourced from hydroelectric

power plants.

Dennis Ibarra, PSPA president, earlier said the process of putting up solar

power plants is the fastest among all energy technologies.

He added that a 10-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.

Ibarra said the time needed to deploy the solar power projects is shorter

than fossil fuel-based, large hydroelectric, geothermal power projects and

other renewable-energy sources.

"The speed of deploying solar power plants can be attributed to over 40

years of installation and connection experience by established companies now

keen on investing in Mindanao. 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 2011, Ibarra said 40 local and international project applications

were submitted to the Department of Energy (DOE). He added that these

projects, if allowed to produce 10 MW each, can generate 400 MW of clean and

renewable power.

He said the power-supply shortage has been causing intermittent outages in

Mindanao throughout the year and that reports indicate that power-reserve

levels remain low at only 100 MW during peak hours.

Ibarra said 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.

The DOE, however, has put a 50-MW cap on solar energy installation target

for three years.

Thus, the PSPA has been appealing to the DOE to increase its installation

targets to 269 MW instead of 50 MW.

"The Renewable Energy Act of 2008 does not prioritize or discriminate

against different renewable-energy technologies, but calls for a balanced

set of technologies, along with their distinct features and applications,"

Ibarra said.