Provincial Board (PB) Member Joven Mondigo’s suggestion that solar plants be set up in Bantayan Island to resolve its power problems may be a long term solution but the cost of setting it up will take both time and money for it to become a reality.
Then again there are reports that the power supply in Bantayan Island had stabilized somewhat in recent days after two of Bantayan Island Power Corp’s (Bipcor) power generators became operational again.
That said it’s not impossible for Bantayan Island to reduce its dependence on diesel-run generators and add solar plants in order to diversify their power mix to avoid the brownouts that plagued the island in the past few days.
Developing solar power technology doesn’t come cheap but then again, households in Bantayan Island can probably take a page out of the families living under the Mandaue-Mactan bridge who use solar panels to provide their meager energy needs.
One family divided the cost of buying solar panels and had them installed on their roofs where they provide enough power to light their homes, power their fans, cell phones and DVD players.
These are indigent families who barely make enough for themselves, earn income way below the minimum wage and yet they managed to pool their resources to buy their own solar panels which cost P3,000 to P4,700.
Factory worker Rolando Navasca said the solar panels provide just enough power for his household while letting him earn additional income by letting his neighbors recharge their units at P10 each.
Except during rainy and typhoon season, solar panels can help reduce a typical household’s power needs substantially. There are firms who sell solar panels and solar lanterns to the public and they are priced about as high as a top end smartphone or laptop.
But installing these solar panels can be a sound investment especially during power shortages and the El Niño season, where the summer heat can be harnessed to power households for months on end.
The Bantayan municipal government should help communities set up their own solar farm/solar panel network which can be used as alternative or backup power supply either in partnership with a foreign aid group—Mondigo mentioned about foreign investors who offered to put up solar plants in Bantayan days after the devastation caused by supertyphoon Yolanda—or through loans from credit institutions.
How they go about it is up to them. The idea of setting up solar panel farms or networks which had already been expanded in countries abroad should be pursued by both the provincial and local government units as a long term solution to providing adequate power supply.