Spreading sunshine via floating solar panels

Laguna, a bustling province in Luzon, still has communities that seem to remain in a powerless epoch.

But in a few years, these communities’ quality of living — particularly in terms of their access to power — will be lit up, as Blueleaf Energy Philippines is now working with the world’s largest floating solar projects.

In a recent episode of Straight Talk, Jason Gavina, head of Community Relations and Marketing of Blueleaf Energy Philippines, said the company is building floating solar projects to aid the country’s energy needs, particularly in Laguna.

 While Laguna is already a widely urbanized place, Gavina shared that many communities still suffer from darker nights due to a lack of access to power.

“There’s still lots of sitios and barangays that need electrification in Laguna,” he said. “Sometimes we pass by, and there’s a cow right in front of us because we can’t see it,” he added.

Green power

The solar panels, set to be placed in Caliraya and Lumot Lakes, as well as Cavinti, are the company’s major project, as they will help electrify the communities without significantly hurting the environment.

Compared to other solar projects that need substantial portions of land, the project will be placed on bodies of water, hence, it will not require cutting trees.

Out of the 1,000 hectares of Caliraya Lake, the solar panels will occupy a 130-hectare portion or just two percent of the lake.

While the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) Power Plant already uses Caliraya for power, Blueleaf aims to optimize the area in terms of use by putting more panels.

“It has to be near interconnection. We have to connect to the grid. There should be enough irradiance, enough sunlight for the solar power to be harnessed,” Gavina said.

Meanwhile, the company’s head explained that the floating solar panels would be more efficient than coal plants, which are more expensive to build, as the company is “building it at an affordable price acceptable to the market.”

In the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), floating solar panels are not unique; countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia, among others, use them, and Gavina said that the Philippines should adopt them.

“The technology is there. The technology has matured,” Gavina said. “The Philippines should catch up and utilize what we have in building renewable energy,” he added.

Meanwhile, the solar panels’ physical looks would incorporate a Sambalilo hat and tilapia icons to pay “homage” to the weavers and fisherfolks, respectively, which is considered the community’s pride.

Gavina said that with this, people from the science academe would most likely be interested in visiting and seeing the site, as the project showcases a coexistence of power and fisheries.

“I think the engineering students would also be interested to see this, the science majors, and the STEM (science, engineering, technology, and mathematics) high school students. We envision them to be going to the lakes, touring and seeing these areas, coexisting with fisheries and generating power,” he said.

Partners, not beneficiaries

Aside from the electricity from Bluealeaf’s power plant, Gavina said it will also stimulate economic activities, such as livelihoods and training.

From the construction of the solar panels, which will begin in the first quarter of next year, down to its operations set to start two years from now, Blueleaf will hire locals as part of its partnership with the community.

“It’s a different shift in perspective. We want them not just beneficiaries. We want them to be partners,” Gavina said.

 “We will not look far, we’ll hire locals. During construction and even in operations, we’ll be hiring around, I think, 200 people to do maintenance, monitoring, patrolling, cleaning, and operating the power plant itself,” he added.

The company will also hire boat operators for transportation and fish cage operators to monitor the fisheries and power plant’s coexistence.

While the peak construction is expected to generate 1,000 jobs, Gavina said that Blueleaf has initiated a livelihood component training in the community, where residents could hone their skills and use them in their future careers.

“As early as the development stage, we partner with them in doing programs such as, for example in health, we train the health workers and the barangay tanods for them to learn about first aid,” he added, which reflects the small initiatives the company is undertaking.

As part of their partnership introduction, they began engaging the residents during the Brigada Eskwela, where they required students to bring recyclable bottles in exchange for a school supplies kit.

They also offer product costing and development training, which could help the residents increase their livelihood.

 Meanwhile, according to Gavina, the project will bring more than P30 million a year. And through the ER1-94, a program that requires power-generating companies to contribute P0.01 per kilowatt-hour to host communities, 50 percent of the generated funds will be allocated for electrification funds.

“The LGUs can tap that fund, and the development can be felt, [and there will be] tangible benefits for the communities,” the community relations head said.

Though the tedious permit processing delays their operations, the program has already garnered recognition and international awards with its initiatives, showing its commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability.

Blueleaf Energy is at the forefront of onshore renewable energy, bringing energy solutions and significant benefits to local stakeholders and communities.