Isabela dam hosts floating solar panels
RAMON, ISABELA—A P24-million floating solar facility that can produce 200 kilowatts of electricity has been launched here recently and is seen to contribute to Isabela’s energy security on a larger scale.
The facility was built on a 2,500-square-meter area at Magat Dam reservoir in Barangay General Aguinaldo here. The circular installation, whose design is inspired by the Amazon water lily, is made up of 720 solar panels held in place by four mooring systems.
It was put up by SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP) as its first nonhydro renewable energy project.
At present, the project will provide power to SNAP’s facilities in the area.
A 10-month stress test will be conducted on the pilot project to ensure that the facility can withstand massive water inflows and strong typhoons.
“There are many things that are happening in the power industry. This is one good thing,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said during the project launch last month.
SNAP president and chief executive officer, Joseph Yu, said he believed the project “holds the potential for significantly greater things in the future.”
Yu said the project maximized the use of the “idle” water surface of the country’s reservoirs. For this project, SNAP partnered with Ocean Sun, a Norwegian floating solar technology provider. —Villamor Visaya Jr.
