6 island schools in Bohol get P18M worth of solar power systems

 MINERVA BC NEWMAN

BOHOL Province – Six island schools in Talibon and Bien Unido towns in Bohol received a donation from Vivant Foundation off-grid solar power systems of different capacity levels worth P18, 441,227.00 including the installation cost for the power system on May 21 to energize these island schools which are not connected to main land power through its project called Renewable Energy for Livelihood and Youth (RELY).

According to the Philippine Information Agency (PIA)-Bohol provincial manager Rey Chui that RELY project aims to promote renewable energy to improve learning and community lives and foster climate change mitigations in underserved communities in Centrals Visayas as well as in Palawan, by energizing off-grid schools.

Chui went on that RELY’s approach combines solar electrification with community development and improved vocational education by collaborating with partner senior high schools to serve as training hubs for the mainstreaming of solar power electrical installation and maintenance.

The project also partners with PROCESS Bohol, a local government program to undertake livelihood and youth programs and development components, Chui added.

According to Vivant Foundation the project is funded by the European Union to the Philippines and SEQUA gGmbH German Cooperation.   The EU support comes under the Access to Sustainable Energy Program (ASEP), a joint undertaking of the Department of Energy and the European Union.

The goal of the cooperation is to assist the Philippine Government in expanding sustainable energy generation to meet growing economic needs and provide energy access to the poor and marginalized sectors, Vivant Foundation added.

Hingotanan East National High School principal Joemilyn Cabanero recalled that in 2004, all they had in school was 6-horsepower 3-kilovolt power generators.  

In 2005 the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) gave them 10 computer units which forced them to buy another set of generators especially when the computer subjects were introduced.

The teachers then would prioritize and dedicate all available power to the classes, while they would delay the printing of reports to allocate the power required for the computers.

Cabanero bared that the problem even escalated when the school started implementing the Senior High School curriculum and with technical vocational and livelihood strand where they had Small Metal Arc Welding, cookery and tailoring.

It was in 2019 after Vivant visited the island schools to gather data and consultations that Vivant Foundation saw the need to provide power to the schools. 

By November 2020, Vivant technicians finished the installation of the off grid solar power systems, making the Hingotanan East National High School a pilot in clean and green energy.

Cabanero said that because of the solar project, the school has saved P10,000 in costs of diesel and now, the amount is used to purchase additional learning materials and tools upgrading for the school teaching aids and other program.

DepEd-Central Visayas Regional Director Atty Salustiano Jimenez with Bohol DepED Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Bianito Dagatan led the local school officials in receiving the deed of donation from Vivant, a Cebu-based power generation company through its Vivant Foundation the company’s corporate social responsibility arm. (Photos: Vivant/Google Images)