JAGNA, Bohol – This bustling port town is making impressions on how to turn a once sleepy into a progressive municipality the province has ever seen recently.
One of its risky ventures the present administration has taken is the putting up of, probably the first of its kind, LGU-initiated tapping of unlimited renewable energy (RE) from sunlight.
Incumbent Vice-Mayor Teofisto Pagar bared that the town is to invest in solar farm in a five-hectare area in barangays Bunga Mar and Cantagay during the town’s recent radio program anchored by Anthony Aniscal.
And to make this viable, the town plans to apply or has applied for a P100 million loan from a bank to put up this solar venture.
The vice-mayor explained that when the bank loan is realized, its payment would be taken from the solar farm earnings as its return of investment (ROI) since the power produce by said solar farm would be harnessed by the BOHECO II, based here.
The plan here is said to be in line with the provincial government’s thrusts of exploiting unlimited sources of electricity in RE.
The Capitol, Department of Energy and other agencies had inaugurated early last year the 27-megawatt San Vicente solar power in Dagohoy town.
The Bohol Investment Board (BIB) and Bohol Renewable Energy Board (BREB) are said to start assessing and eventually endorse to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan the private sector’s proposed tapping renewable energy.
The two private proposal are the San Miguel Global Power BESS Inc., a proponent for Ubay Battery Storage System (20MW), an ancillary service provider to NGCP; and Blue Haven Windkraft Corporation, a proponent for Bohol 2 Anda Wind Power Project (50MW) in the Southeastern Peninsula of Bohol (Anda, Guindulman, Candijay).
Bohol has been trying hard for years now to have its owned reliable and affordable power supply without depending so much from other sources. The present administration of Gov. Aris Aumentado wants to prevent what the Boholanos had suffered when island-wide blackout hit Bohol in the aftermath of 2013 earthquake and super-typhoon Odette on Dec. 16, 2021. (rvo)
