Off-grid Philippines areas can benefit from 'hybrid microgrids', says Taiwan power firm

Off-grid Philippines areas can benefit from 'hybrid microgrids', says Taiwan
power firm

THE PHILIPPINES IS MET WITH MANY POWER CHALLENGES DESPITE ITS ABUNDANT
SUPPLY OF IMMEDIATE AND NATURAL ENERGY RESOURCES. POWER PLAYERS HAVE STUDIED
THAT MUCH OF THESE ARE LAGGED DUE TO THE ISLAND-RICH ARCHIPELAGO BEING
SITUATED IN THE TYPHOON BELT.

The country bears no difference with Taiwan, which can be found in the far
north near Batanes in Luzon. But the tiny East Asian state uses an
independent power solution called "hybrid microgrids" that supply dependable
power to isolated areas for 24 hours.

Taiwanese company ControlNet International, Inc., who introduced the concept
of the microgrid type, said that the Philippines can apply the hybrid
solution to its remote islands as well as to drive similar regions to
economic growth, BusinessWorld reports.

"We can use [renewable sources like sun and wind] alongside other sources of
energy," Internation Department Executive at ControlNet Pawel Lisewski said,
who spoke with the Philippine press in the company's offices in Taipei last
July 19. He added that agricultural materials such as coconut husks can be
converted to biomass energy via gasification.

Gasification is the process of heating up a material at high temperatures
without combustion. It is usually achieved with a controlled amount of steam
or oxygen.

Lisewski likened Taiwan's power irregularities in its far-flung islands to
the Philippines', saying it "has a couple of natural challenges [which]
makes it difficult to keep power stable."

Since 2015, Taiwan's hybrid microgrid utilities have been applied in the
outer Chimei Island of Penghu and the populous Fushan Village in Kaohsiung
City, to which both are located along the Taiwan Strait connecting to
Mainland China.

According to Lisewski, the hybrid solution is a good system especially for
energy sources such as diesel and biomass since it can create a more stable
power supply unlike solar and wind, whose intermittent capacity is erratic
due to environmental conditions.

In line with this, reliance on renewable energy on the grid can also be
decreased and may even cheapen electricity costs. "With proper resources, we
can offer them a cheaper source of power," he said, citing renewables and
non-renewables can be used interchangeably since both are generally linked
to a single transmission grid.

ControlNet has expressed its interest in bringing its expertise to the
Philippines, specifically in Batanes, as long as the government is willing
to enter into such investments with a guaranteed "willingness, regulation,
and financing."

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Link to Original Article:
http://powerphilippines.com/2017/07/28/offgrid-ph-hybrid-microgrids-says-tai
wan-power-firm/

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com