Meralco’s 32-KW solar panel microgrid in Isla Verde now online

Manila Electric Co. has switched on a 32-kilowatt solar panel microgrid in Isla Verde, a project done in partnership with the Batangas City local government and the United States Agency for International Development.

The microgrid inaugurated on Feb. 15, which operates independently from the power transmission grid, so far provides electricity to 30 households on the island between Batangas and Mindoro.

Isla Verde is six kilometers away from Batangas shores and has been dependent on diesel-fired power generator sets that give them electricity from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

According to Meralco, this project—its first solar microgrid—supports the company’s initiatives toward using more sustainable energy sources and highlights efforts on rural electrification.

“This is the fulfillment of our promise to provide electric service to the people of Isla Verde,” Meralco senior vice president Ronnie Aperocho said in a statement.

“The project was intentionally pursued using green energy, and with a safe and sustainable supply of power, another Batangas destination will be given the opportunity to further develop,” Aperocho said.

While Isla Verde attracts foreign visitors, especially divers, the development of tourism infrastructure there has been hampered by inadequate power supply.

Aperocho said the microgrid would not only provide much needed power for the island’s six barangays, it would also contribute to efforts on reducing carbon emissions as well as the push for missionary electrification in areas where electricity was not available round the clock.

In a study conducted for the Philippines in 2017, the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) recommended that increasing access to both equity and loan financing would help advance off-grid renewable energy development, especially if more small operators were to enter the market.

“The government can both provide this funding directly and stimulate investment from private-sector financial institutions,” Irena said.

“The NEA (National Electrification Administration), for example, should allocate a portion of its rural electrification grant funding to support off-grid development, instead of solely supporting line extension,” the agency added.