Stakeholders from Borongan City and Dolores Municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines on 19-20 July 2023 participated in renewable energy (RE) capacity-sharing workshops conducted as part of the RE-Start Campaign of Oxfam Pilipinas under the technical implementation of ICLEI Southeast Asia.
A total of 26 stakeholders from the two local government units (LGUs), regional distribution utility, provincial government, academe, civil service organizations (CSOs), and people’s organizations (POs) participated in the said workshops.
Stakeholders from the local government and people’s organizations of Dolores, Eastern Samar during the capacity sharing workshop held on 19 July 2023.
Specifically, the capacity-sharing activities aimed to present each locality’s respective energy profiles to their stakeholders, identify priority renewable energy projects for each LGU, and present possible local and international funding organizations where renewable energy project proposals may be submitted. The stakeholders were also capacitated in the development of short project pitches to further aid them in their efforts towards renewable energy transition.
Stakeholders from the local government, people’s organizations, academe, and distribution utility of Borongan, Eastern Samar during the capacity sharing workshop held on 20 July 2023.
To advance the just energy transition in the local governments, ICLEI Southeast Asia additionally presented its recommendation to create a multistakeholder energy transition mechanisms in Borongan City, which will see the meaningful involvement of community stakeholders in the identification, development, and implementation of RE plans, programs, projects, and activities.
(in photo above) A solar panel installation on the off-grid island of Hilabaan, Dolores, Eastern Samar.
The workshops were preceded by a visit to the off-grid island village of Hilabaan in Dolores on 18 July 2023. ICLEI Southeast Asia and its technical consultant Engr. Isabelo Rabuya visited two solar power system installations and a Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) diesel generator on the island to inform the development of the municipality’s energy profile. Select households benefitting from the said renewable energy systems were also interviewed to better understand the area’s energy situation and possible future renewable energy directions.
Eastern Samar currently has peak loads reaching almost 20 MW versus 22 MW contracted capacity from various private energy producers. Of this amount however, only two (2) MW comes from renewable energy sources while the rest comes from traditional coal power plants.
Based on energy modeling assessments taking into account each locality’s unique contexts, solar power and hydropower are seen to be the most viable renewable energy pathways. As a whole, Eastern Samar has a global horizontal irradiation (GHI) potential of 4.94 kWh/m2 per day for solar power. Meanwhile, the province’s viable hydropower sites could possibly generate over 3,300 MWh of energy.
The island visit and capacity-sharing sessions follow the RE-Start ceremonial Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony and consultation workshops previously held on March 2023.
