DAVAO CITY — The regional office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST 11) allocated PHP16.771 million for the Micro-Grid Solar PV System in New Bataan, Compostela Valley.
DOST 11 Director Anthony Sales said the solar system is intended to provide electricity to rural and remote communities of New Bataan.
Sales said the funding of the project was made through ihe Philippine Council for Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD).
The project is a partnership between DOST, the Ateneo de Davao University and the local government unit designed in the field test of a 50 kilowatts (kW) micro-grid solar PV system to serve the houses in Barangay Manurigao which has 1,739 total population as of 2011.
“It is the most remote among the barangays in New Bataan because of the absence of better road and transportation. It is also heavily surrounded with mountain ranges, and most of its territory is forest cover that has been one of the main sources of living of the residents aside from root crops,” Sales said.
Sales said the two clusters at 50-kW each will be deployed to produce at least 400-kwh of energy per day.
“Each cluster is designed to serve 50 houses at 1-kW per house at two to four hours per day,” he said.
For an off-grid solar PV system, Sales said a battery system is a requisite since solar electricity is produced during daytime and, oftentimes, being used during night time.
“The project aims to design and evaluate the solar PV energy management systems (EMS). In addition, it also aims to identify contextual factors affecting the efficient use of solar electricity,” he said.
The target completion of the project is within a period of two years. (Armando Fenequito Jr/PNA)
