The solar panels used at the Dagohoy solar farm.
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol – The province of Bohol has already taken its first step into achieving energy sufficiency using green energy.
On Thursday, Bohol Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado led the ceremonial switch-on of the 27 megawatt Dagohoy Solar Power Plant that is worth P1.1 billion and located in Brgys. San Vicente and Sta. Cruz in Dagohoy town.
The 22-hectare solar farm, that is operated by the Dagohoy Green Energy Corporation (DGEC), has 40, 000 solar panels that could power at least 15,000 households.
Aumentado said during his speech that Bohol “needs reliable and eco-friendly sources of power that can drive our local economy forward and contribute to building a cleaner and greener future.”
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“Malaking bagay ito for our future developments. In Panglao, many new resorts are coming in. In Ubay, there is an economic zone. Makikita natin na malaki na ang pagbabago ng Bohol and we need more power,” he said.
(This is a big deal for our future developments. In Panglao, many new resorts are coming in. In Ubay, there is an economic zone. We can see that there is a big change in Bohol and we need more power.)
Bohol Governor Erico Aris Aumentado (third from right) leads the official switch-on of the Dagohoy Solar Power Project. he is joined by officials of Dagohoy Green Energy Corporation, DOE, and Dagohoy town, and his wife and Bohol 2nd District Rep. Maria Vanessa Aumentado.
In addition, Aumentado said that the solar farm in Dagohoy town, a fourth class municipality that rely on farming, would now serve as one of the most important infrastructure in their province, “serving as a symbol of our ongoing push towards energy independence and reduced dependence on fossil fuels, which not only harm our natural environment, but also impact our health and our pockets.”
Price of electricity
Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara of the Department of Energy said that in 2022, the highest load weighted average price for electricity in Bohol was at P14 per kilowatt hour.
“In the past three years, electricity consumption in Bohol peaks during the tourist season and the price of electricity in 2022 and 2023 correspondingly increases during the tourist season,” she said.
Bohol is getting 80 megawatt of electricity from Leyte and “if this transmission line trips, more than 80 percent of Bohol will have power outage.”
The Dagohoy solar farm uses at least 40, 000 solar panels to harness energy from the sun.
This year, the price of electricity in Bohol dropped after the Dumanjug-Corella 230kV line was energized in August. “Its 70 megavolt ampere reactive capacity also means additional energy security for Bohol.”
However, Guevara said that “these two transmission lines for energy import from Cebu and Leyte dictates the price of electricity in Bohol.”
With the operation of the Dagohoy solar farm, the island province is already, “20 MW to achieving energy security and energy sustainability.
“As we continue to witness rapid advancements in solar technology, we should recognize that the future of energy lies in innovation, sustainability, and collaboration.”
Dagohoy residents working as maintenance workers at the solar farm.
Benefits for Dagohoy
Dagohoy Mayor Hermie Relampagos, for his part, said that aside from energy sufficiency, the operation of the solar farm gave jobs to his people. The town now has a population of at least 24,000.
Moreover, Relampagos said that he would be expecting a share of at least P10 million per year from the operation of the solar farm that would already be a huge addition to their annual income of P100 million.
When they started to receive their share from DGEC, Relampagos, said that he would use the money on tourism-related infrastructure projects.
DGEC President Francisco Delfin Jr. said that solar farm in Bohol was already the third that they switched-on this year. The two others are located in Aklan and Davao.
In December, they will also start the commissioning of a 20 megawatt project in Nueva Ecija.
Yrel Ventura DGEC’s Assistant Vice President for Environment and Community Relations, said that they started work on the solar farm in Bohol in January 2022 and finished the project in the last week of October.
Ventura said that they started to operate the solar farm on November 12 but its official switch-on was only held last Nov. 21.
Dagohoy town is located at least 60 kilometers away from Tagbilaran City.