Roi Anthoni B. Lomotan
DUMAGUETE CITY, June 18
(PIA) – The Department of Energy (DOE) encourages local officials in Negros
Oriental to develop more renewable energy projects in the province.
DOE-Visayas information
Lou Arciaga cited this during a Kapihan sa PIA recently that Negros
Oriental is behind Negros Occidental in terms of developing potential renewable
energy sources.
Arciaga said, apart
from the solar farm in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, there are also other
upcoming solar farms in Cadiz City, La Carlota City, Bacolod City and in Pulupandan.
Arciaga hopes that in the
coming years, Negros Oriental will be able to catch up with its neighbor
province in maximizing the utilization of its renewable energy sources
especially now that there is a Negros Island Region.
“Hopefully there will be
more renewable energy projects here,” Arciaga said.
As of now, Negros Oriental
is the host of one renewable energy facility which is the geothermal powerplant
in Valencia town operated by the Energy Development Corporation. This
geothermal power plant is a big supplier of energy in the Visayas grid.
However, on the prospect
of finding other renewable energy source, Arciaga sees solar power as another
option for Negros Oriental.
According to Arciaga,
solar energy is easy to put up from among the sources of renewable energy
because there is solar radiation everywhere.
On the other hand, local
solar power installation company: The Solar Power Company’s marketing head
Cezar Miranda said, using solar power as a source of energy for local
government offices and business establishments have environmental and economic
benefits.
Miranda explained using
energy helps in sustaining the environment since it reduces the carbon
footprint in businesses. It is also accessible, maintenance free and the return
of investment is estimated within 4-7 years.
He added that using
solar power can bring savings for the Local Government Units (LGUs) and
businessmen in the long run.
Using solar power empowers
consumers and producers, he noted.
Dumaguete City resident
Sonny Sabala, one of the reactors at the Kapihan sa PIA who uses solar power in
his home disclosed that his electric bill reduced from P10,000 to P4,000 after
he installed a 3 kilowatt solar panel in his house.
He shared that during the
day, they use solar power to run their electric appliances and they only
consume power from the local distribution company during the night which gives
them savings on their electric dues.
Sabala also encourages
those who are in the business sector to do the same since it would give them
80% savings in energy cost especially during daytime which is the peak hours of
operations.
“We are going to save in
this solar system. There is no doubt about that,” he said.
Business and LGUs for now
could opt to install solar panels on their roofdecks since there is still no
solar farm in the province.
However, if LGUs should
then decide to tie up with renewable energy firms and develop a solar farms
within the province, Arciaga suggests to use idle lands and if possible about 1
to 1.5 hectares.
The DOE official also
discussed other incentives provided by the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 for the
benefit of private companies who are interested in investing on renewable
energy in Negros Oriental.
These include tax and
duty-free Importation of components, parts and materials, tax credit on
domestic capital components, parts and materials, income tax holiday and
exemption and zero-rated value added tax transactions.
Apart from these, LGUs can
also enjoy potential tourism growth once renewable energy facilities are
developed.
Arciaga cited Bangui,
Ilocos Norte which is a site of wind energy farm. She explained the place has
become a tourist attraction because of the windmills installed there.
This along with the
possibility of bigger revenue collection for LGUs is advantages of hosting a
renewable energy facility, she added. (mbcn/ral/PIA7-Negros Oriental)