Pinangunahan ni President Rodrigo Duterte ang pagpapasinaya sa 7.5 megawatt peak (MWp) Tumingad solar power project sa bayan ng Odiongan, Romblon nitong Miyerkules.
Sinabi ni Pangulong Duterte na ang ipinatayong solar power plant ng Sunwest Water and Electric Company (SUWECO) ay isang ‘milestone' pagdating sa paggamit ng renewable energy ng bansa.
“I am pleased to join you today in inaugurating this hybrid solar diesel-powered plant that will pave the way to a greener tomorrow for Romblon and the rest of the country. This is indeed a milestone not only for the people of the province but for our environment as well,” Ayon sa bahagi ng talumpati ng Pangulo.
“There’s always waste, however, you justify it, there’s always a waste of everything except solar,” dagdag ni Duterte.
Sinabi rin ng Pangulo na kahit mas makakamura maitayo ang mga oil at coal power plants, mas maganda naman umano pagdating sa environment ang isang renewable energy lalo na ang solar.
“As of now mas mura (it’s cheaper) if you just go with oil and coal in the meantime. Coal, meron tayo (we have) but it destroys. You cannot have it all. You get one, you lose one. You have a cheap power plant, coal, oil, but the carbon, the fossil fuel leaves a lot of carbon footprint in the country and I do not know how it would impact on the next generation,” pahayag ng Pangulo.
Pinasalamatan rin ni Pangulong Duterte ang Sunwest Water and Electric Company sa pamumuno ng major share holder nito na si Ako Bicol Representative, Elizaldy Co, dahil sa pagpundo rito para maipatayo.
“Projects such as this complement the government’s aim to fast-track the development of renewable energy sources in the country and in the process reduce our nation’s dependence of traditional energy sources including coal,” pahayag ng Pangulo.
Ang nasabing Tumingad solar power plant na nagkakahalaga ng P550-million kasama ang kanilang 8.8-megawatt (MW) diesel-fired power plant ay inaasahang magbibibgay ng kuryente sa aabot na 43,400 kabahayan sa isla ng Tablas.
Dahil sa solar power plant at sa diesel-fired power plant, ang Tablas Island na ang ituturing na bahay ng pinakamalaking Hybrid Solar-Diesel Microgrid with battery sa buong Pilipinas.
