Philippines' nexus technique for water as well as solar energy supply

• The country's National Irrigation Administration will certainly bank on floating PV and also solar-powered irrigation to boost water and power supply. The Pantabangan as well as Casecnan dams, in the province of Nueva Ecija in the Central Luzon region, have been recognized as perfect locations for floating solar.

The Philippines' National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is preparing to buy even more floating PV projects, in addition to hydropower, to improve the water for watering.

The federal government agency said floating solar projects will certainly be encouraged as they have less ecological effect during building than hydropower framework as well as require marginal use of heavy tools. "The solar panels mounted over the storage tank can help in reducing the amount of water shed due to dissipation, which becomes especially valuable in times of dry spell as well as El Niño," the NIA stated. "Similarly, the panels are purposefully spaced out to ensure that there can still suffice sunshine that can filter through for fish as well as various other microorganisms to grow."

The Pantabangan and also Casecnan dams, in the district of Nueva Ecija in the Central Luzon region, were identified as suitable areas for floating solar. "Thus, NIA supplies its dams and also storage tanks for water-based projects which can accomplish the same objective, of boosting power production, while saving agricultural lands and providing additional revenue to the federal government," the company said.

Pilot

The company included, there is already a 200 kW pilot project in the country, commissioned by the SN Aboitiz Power hydropower joint venture in between Norwegian renewables firm SN Power AS and also Philippines-based energy company AboitizPower, which is a system of Aboitiz Equity Ventures.

The NIA said it has identified 379 possible hydroelectric power websites nationwide which might hold solar as well as wind power facilities. The firm likewise pledged to ramp up using solar-powered watering systems such as the one near La Libertad, in Negros Oriental province, which waters 25ha of corn. "The system has 5 stations, each with 10 panels capable of irrigating three to 5 hectares of agricultural land," stated the agency. "The modern technology consists of photovoltaic panels, pumps, digital pump controllers, tank and also conveyor systems."

Pumps

One more under-construction project, in Sofronio Española in Palawan province, waters 10ha of farming land. "It was designed as an energy-efficient project that has the capacity to inflate water from the resource to a raised storage tank and releases by gravity directly to irrigated areas," the NIA mentioned. A 3rd solar irrigation project was integrated in the province of Camarines Sur to assist rain-dependent farmers plant rice in 3 cropping seasons. The planetary system at Barangay Malawag-- the Aguik-ican Malawag Solar-Powered Irrigation System-- price PHP6 million ($122,000) and also can pump an ordinary 1,000 m3 in 6-8 hours. Powered by 60 solar panels, the watering system can release 35.42 litres per 2nd, with the supply pipe able to discharge 20.62 liters per second.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization lately said it was looking for to sustain the algae industry on the Philippine island of Tawi-Tawi-- in the Bangsamoro autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao, at the most southern frontier of the nation-- via aquavoltaic projects. The company is bringing power access to among the least energized areas of the archipelago, with solar-plus-storage selected as the most affordable and most efficient source.