One Renewable has successfully launched the Mararison Island Solar-Powered Water Desalination and Communication Hub.
The Hub, housed in a new building within the island’s main area, offers a number of services seen to contribute to the island’s sustainable development.
The services include internet access, MWELL tele-health consulting, on-island sale of Powerload prepaid electricity through the Posible.Net gateway, and the online booking of Mararison homestays. The hub also offers fresh, clean drinking water so the island’s residents will no longer have to commute to the mainland for their daily supply.
Access to renewable power, potable water and the internet can help transform Mararison Island into a climate resilient community with a diversified economy, food security, as well as connected and well informed residents.
The event was graced by the presence of SP Sueki Palacios, SB Peter Rivera, Vice Mayor Wakoy Xavier of Culasi, Antique who expressed support for replication of the project to Batbatan and Maniguin, Culasi.
Island communities across the Philippines are set to receive access to financial services and renewable energy as Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation’s (RCBC) DiskarTech and One Renewable Energy (OREEi) seal a partnership that is estimated to benefit over 20,000 Filipinos residing in these communities.
One of these communities is Mararison Island, off the municipality of Culasi in Antique which, through OREEi’s initiatives in partnership with the Asian Development Bank and the local government, now enjoys 24/7 access to electricity from their previous 4 hours a day. The partnership is expected to open economic and social development opportunities for Mararison and all other islands.
“This partnership is part of our mission to promote inclusive digital finance to our unbanked and underserved kababayans. Serving the OREEi communities and widening the reach of Diskartech will help us in achieving this objective,” said Lito Villanueva, RCBC’s executive vice president and chief innovation and inclusion officer.
The Mararison Island Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Hybrid Pilot Project showcases a public-private partnership between Antique Electric Cooperative (ANTECO), the electric distribution franchise holder; the local government of Antique; One Renewable Energy Enterprise, Inc. (OREEI), the technical partner with partial grant from ADB.
Mararison is one of many small islands in the Philippines where economic growth has been hampered by lack of livelihood opportunities and limited electricity service. The main industries on the island are tourism and fishing. On Mararison, electricity was generated from diesel-fueled generator, providing power only four hours a day. Due to the costs and difficulties transporting fuel, the approximately 160 households on the island have had to pay a much higher tariff than those on the mainland where electricity is available 24 hours a day.
Under the pilot project, the existing diesel power plant was replaced a 50-kW PV system with a 273 kwH lithium-ion batteries and 54 kW diesel generator that is designed to supply the current and future needs of some 200 households and commercial establishments catering to local tourism in the island. The power plant is equipped with energy management system (EMS) that allows for automatic switching of the diesel generation as needed and provides real time data on the operation of the power plant which can be monitored remotely.
The system is designed to generate 80% of power from the solar PV system, stored in the batteries and delivered to the households using the transmission and distribution lines of ANTECO. The diesel generator will supply any shortfall from solar production.
The introduction of an innovative pre-paid metering system for electricity consumption will ensure 100% HH inclusion, energy efficiency and give the consumer the capacity to budget their electrical consumption. At the same time, collection issues are a thing of the past as the local electric cooperative no longer needs to deploy collection agents monthly.
With reliable and continuous 24/7 electric services, islanders now have greater income generating opportunities, such as better food and lodgings to attract more tourism and refrigeration for fishers catch preservation and better market prices. Lower power prices will leave more income for the islanders for other essentials such as food and education, and also give them greater connectivity through mobile phone charging, access to TV and radio, and internet services. Access to household appliances such as rice cookers, simple washing machines, and irons have also reduced the work burden on the island’s women.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, ADB Vice-President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Mr. Bambang Susantono said the role of the private sector in this project is showcasing a new business model for deploying a distributed renewable energy system.
“ADB’s support of this venture is proof of its desire to concretely contribute to the government’s target of 100% household electrification by 2022 through private sector participation in the energy sector,” he said. “The success of this project will encourage more investors into the country’s off-grid electrification efforts using distributed renewable energy system, thereby promoting the goal of increasing energy access and inclusive growth.”
The Barangay Kalayaan Hydroponics Project is a joint venture among Barangay Kalayaan in Angono (Rizal), Catholic Relief Services, JVL, SILC Private Service Providers, and One Renewable. Each entity provides local government assistance, community engagement, contracting, loans, and energy, respectively. The overall goals of the project are to create a sustainable environment in which there is food security, to act as a social enterprise and provide women with jobs, and to showcase the capabilities of renewable energy in running the hydroponics system.
Solar hydroponics is the future of using renewable energy for food security. Instead of relying on the soil to provide nutrients to the plants, it instead uses a solution added to water that goes directly to the roots of the plants. By removing the reliance of the plants to the soil and replacing it with water, a more sustainable growing environment is created.
Plants can only be planted into fertile soil, which takes time to develop. By using water and a nutrient-rich solution to grow plants, this process is shortened. The system that runs the Barangay Kalayaan Hydroponics project is powered by solar energy. In fact, everything within the system including the nutrient pumps are run using solar power. The pumps ensure that the crops are able to take in the required nutrients to grow.
The Barangay Kalayaan team currently grows lettuce but the system can be customized to grow other leafy vegetables like spinach and kale. Other vegetables like bell peppers and cherry tomatoes can also be grown using hydroponics.
By combining a model for sustainable development and renewable energy, a more climate-resilient community can evolve. Solar hydroponics does not only cut down on waste, but it also increases food security by taking away the need to rely on the readiness of soil before planting. Using solar energy to power the entire system also aids in cutting down on waste since it simply uses the sunlight to get it to run. The goal, as a whole, is to introduce an innovative way to provide a community with food, from sources close to them, while not harming the environment.
