i-Netnews (27 August 2008)

Cepalco’s solar plant now serving 900 residential customers

THE 1-MegaWattpower (MWp) Solar PhotoVoltaic Power Plant of the Cagayan de Oro Electric Power and Light Company (CEPALCO) is now supplying electricity to about 900 of its residential customers in Cagayan de Oro City.
No less than President Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo inspected this unique PhotoVoltaic solar power plant in December 2004, barely three months after it was officially commissioned.
This PhotoVoltaic solar power energy is an alternative source of energy that is being promoted by President Arroyo in her “Super Regions” development strategy in Mindanao.
President Arroyo, in her 2008 State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA), mentioned solar cell lighting, where PV solar power is one among the many modules, as in line with her administration’s Energy Self Sufficiency Program, especially in Mindanao.
The said PV solar plant is a polycrystalline silicon-based plant that generates power from sunlight through the PV module that is converted to electricity.
The electricity generated is connected to Cepalco’s 13.8-kilovolt distribution line in its Camaman-an sub-station, which finally distributes power to its residential consumers in the city.
This was bared by Engr. Oliver Labares, staff engineer of Cepalco who takes charge of metering and maintenance of the PV solar plant in an interview conducted by the Philippine Information Agency.
The plant that is hosting the PV solar module is situated in a diamond-shaped two-hectare lot in Barangay Indahag, Cagayan de Oro City, about six kilometers southeast from the city proper.
Its construction started in September 2003 and was fully completed in March 2004. However, its first commercial operation began on September 26, 2004.

Clean, noiseless energy

He said Photovoltaic refers to “photo,” meaning “light” and “voltaic,” meaning “voltage," which means that power is generated from sunlight energy through the PV module.
It is regarded as the cleanest source of energy and it does not pollute the atmosphere since the plant does not use fuel for its operation and it is also noiseless, hence, it is environment-friendly, he also said.
The power plant has solar cells made of silicon materials that generate electricity once sunlight strikes the surface of the solar cells called the PV module.

Highly automated, less personnel

Engr. Labares also said that the Photovoltaic power plant uses 6,480 pieces of poly-crystalline silicon PV modules and is highly automated and can be left unmanned.
It is monitored and controlled by Cepalco’s control center, manned only by a few personnel, he said.
As soon as the sun rises in the morning, the plant automatically starts up and generates energy, while the facilities shut down as soon as the sun sets in the afternoon.
With this process, the average daily production of not less than 4,000 KWh is being distributed to Cepalco’s residential consumers.
The power generated from the PV plant, Labares said, is immediately used to augment the capacity of Cepalco’s 15-MV Camaman-an substation, about five circuit-kilometer from the PV plant site in Indahag.
The plant supplies portion of the distribution requirement of electricity during day time, while during night time the network’s requirements are supplied solely by the Camaman-an substation of Cepalco.
Its computerized monitoring system automatically records the energy generated, including important operations and events that occur during the day.

Higher-than-expected production rate

The PV power plant has completed its third year of commercial operations with greater than the expected annual energy production.
The electric company bared that the plant has exported a total of 4,169,100 kilowatt hour (KWh) or an average of 1,389,700 annually, which is 10% higher than the expected annual energy generation of 1,261,400 KWh.
With this, the plant is currently supplying the energy requirement of no less than 900 residential customers of Cepalco, wherein no less than 4,000 KWp are supplied daily or a total of 120,000 KWh per month.

GEF-funded

PV Plant Manager Cecilio Sumaoy, for his part, said the plant has a total project cost of US$5.3 million, funded from a loan of US$4 million granted and particularly funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and facilitated by the World Bank through the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The balance of $1.3 million dollars was shouldered by Cepalco as its counterpart.
The GEF fund is a loan granted to the electric company with conditions and requirements to be complied.
One of the conditions set by GEF was to convert the said loan into grants where not a single centavo will be returned back to GEF after five years of successful operation of the PhotoVoltaic solar plant.
Other conditions are for the PV plant to operate normally based on industry standards within five years; to submit the required documentations and reports yearly and to diligently comply with all the other obligations and conditions set by the International Finance Corporation, among others, he explained.
The GEF trust fund was established by the World Bank so that the global environment will be protected and to promote environmentally sound and sustainable development.

Only and largest plant in 3rd World

Meanwhile, Engr. Cecilio Sumaoy, PV plant manager and systems operations department head, disclosed that in 2004, the PhotoVoltaic solar plant of Cepalco was the lone and largest PV plant among the developing countries.
It is a demonstration or a pilot project of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), environmentally funded by GEF-United Nations donor countries like Japan and the United States for the protection of the environment, he said.
He added that after five years, the successful operation of the plant would convert the $4-million loan into a grant and this would determine GEF’s decision whether or not to replicate this PV solar plant in other developing countries.
Aside from protecting the environment, huge benefits would also be derived from PV plants, like less operation and maintenance costs, no interventions, and no emissions or pollution, among others.
The said power plant has a warranty of 20 years and a normal life span of more than 25 years, he also said.

Bigger plant up ahead

The project manager also disclosed that their company is planning to put up another much larger Photo Voltaic (PV) solar plant--a 10-MWp--in a 30-hectare lot within the First Cagayan de Oro Business Park situated in Barangay Kirahon, municipality of Villanueva, Misamis Oriental, some 23 kilometers away from Cagayan de Oro City.
The proposed PV plant that will be fully financed by Cepalco will have a total installed capacity of 14 million KWh of electricity annually, which will enable Cepalco and other small-time electric companies to save an equivalent of not less than 30,000 barrels of fuel oil every year since the plant does not use oil.
Also, it will have a total installed capacity of at least 10MWp and shall be constructed over a period of at least five years, he also said.
The construction of this large solar park will entail huge amount of investments, hence the company plans to phase-in or spread its implementation within five years.
Once realized, the first phase of the proposed 30-hectare solar park shall be commissioned by year 2012 and it is expected to augment the expected shortfall of firm capacity in the Mindanao grid.
The PhotoVoltaic power plant has elevated Cagayan de Oro City or the Philippines into the ranks of only a few developing countries in the world hosting similar large scale solar-powered generation facilities.
PV solar power plants are mostly found in the First World countries like Spain, Germany, Australia and United States, among others, Engr. Labares also revealed.
Engr. Sumaoy emphasized that the PhotoVoltaic solar grid application is only found in the Philippines and that the GEF envisions to replicate this technology in other developing countries with the aim of protecting the environment, while promoting environmentally sound and sustainable development. (Babes Jacob-Rebultan/PIA-MisOrOccCam)

Tangub schools go for sports

TANGUB City in Misamis Occidental is holding the intercollegiate games (ICG) between Gov. Alfonso D. Tan College (GADTC) and Northwestern Mindanao College of Science and Technology (NMSC) on August 26-29, 2008.
Conceptualized by Atty. Philip T. Tan, president of NMSC, and Mayor Jennifer W. Tan, president of GADTC, the four-day activities is envisioned to foster loyalty and team spirit among faculty and staff of the two schools, and friendship and camaraderie between the two colleges.
The activities kicked-off yesterday through a parade, which started at 7:00AM, simultaneous with the torch relay, participated in by city officials, drum corps of schools, officials, faculty, staff and students of both colleges.
The parade ended at the City Plaza where the raising of Philippine flag, city banner, entrance of the friendship flame and lighting of the urn took place. The first couple raised the ICG banner, while the delegation banners were hoisted by respective administrators of both schools.
Activities at the City Plaza were followed by a Mass at the Sinanduloy Cultural Center, and the formal opening program of the four-day activities.
Cheerleading competition at Sinanduloy Cultural Center followed at 1:00PM with four categories: all-male, all-female, mixed (all students) and all-faculty and staff (mixed male and female).
Day Two consists of games, while in the evening is the Search for Mr. and Miss ICG.
Championship games will be played in the morning of Day 4; the closing ceremonies in the afternoon of the same day. Fellowship dinner will follow in the evening. (Judith B. Tablan, Tangub City Information Office/PIA-Tangub City i-Net)