Laguna de Bay Targeted for Solar Power Tests

The government is planning to install floating solar panels in Laguna de Bay for a year to test its viability for harvesting renewable energy.

Soon, fishes and water spinach are not the only things that you can harvest from Laguna de Bay. Solar energy, too. This solar energy test will include two sites, combining 90,000 hectares, are being targeted for future use and is planned to run for a year.

Solar-Powered Offices

A 10-kilowatt-peak solar farm in Bara, Rizal has been commissioned by renewable energy firm Winnergy Holdings Corp. It’s being used now to generate power for the town’s Kasarinlan Park at night. 

Vena Energy is also expected to commission a solar test bed in Los Baños, Laguna.  

The company signed a memorandum of understanding with both the local government and the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA).

Government offices in the town are the first ones to benefit from the renewable energy that will come from the Los Baños test site.

Private companies have limited each pilot area to only 200 sqm., but the LLDA has approved the use of up to 1,000 square meters per site.

Head of the LLDA project management and evaluation division Jun Paul Mistica said that one of the things  they wanted to find out is if the solar beds would last given the weather conditions. They also want to know if there are possible effects on the lake’s natural ecosystem.

Mistica also mentioned that the tests would last for a year, exposing the solar beds to both the rainy and dry seasons in the country.

Effect on Marine Life

Mistica and the LLDA want to see how feasible power generation would be in Laguna Lake especially since it has long been exhausted for bangus and tilapia aquaculture.

He also mentioned that although similar technologies had been used in other countries, this initiative was the first of its kind in the Philippines. He added that the solar panels floating on the lake reduce the need for land–which can be allotted for agriculture.

Lastly, Mistica said that the government did not spend anything for the pilot tests and that the results of which would be used as basis for policies.

via Inquirer.net / Maricar Cinco