Palawan hybrid power project goes online

Sabang Renewable Energy Corp. on Thursday inaugurated its hybrid solar-diesel system in Barangay Cabayugan, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. The plant combines solar panels, batteries, diesel engines and an electricity distribution system. PHOTO BY JORDEENE B. LAGARE


PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan:
 Sabang Renewable Energy Corp. (SREC) has switched on its hybrid minigrid system here.

Located in Barangay Cabayugan, the hybrid project combines solar panels, batteries, an d diesel engines—and an electricity distribution system.

According to SREC, the hybrid plant is capable of generating as much as 2.6 (megawatt peak) MWp under optimal conditions.

The hybrid facility shall provide round-the-clock stable, reliable and renewable energy, which SREC earlier said would power further growth in the village where the Puerto Princesa Subterranean National Park is located.

This would enable the entity to supply power to approximately 10 public buildings, 18 small businesses, 19 hotels and restaurants, and 583 households.

“We didn’t just install four diesel engines totaling 1.28 MW capacity and a 1.4-MWp solar energy system. We erected poles and cables spanning 14 kilometers and built the power grid from the ground up,” SREC President and Chief Executive Officer Walden Tantuico explained.

SREC is a consortium of Vivant Energy Corp., Gigawatt Power Inc. and WEnergy Global.

During the press briefing, Gigawatt Power Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Shibley said the consortium invested P450 million to undertake the hybrid facility in the province.

Electricity coming from the hybrid minigrid system is sold for P12 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to individual consumers, government offices, and other public establishments and P15 per kWh to customers in the commercial sector, according to Palawan Electric Cooperative Chairman Jeffrey Tan-Endriga.

“This is under the QTP [qualified third party] program of the government. The program will help us really energize all the households all over the country,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in his speech during the event.

SREC said the Energy Regulatory Commission granted the company a provisional authority to SREC to operate as a QTP on October 26, 2018.

According to the Department of Energy, a QTP refers to an alternative electric service provider that meets the standards and chosen in accordance with the process set forth to deliver power to unviable areas or areas without access to electricity.

Read the original story here.
(Published in Manila Times, 9 November 2019)

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