SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The dark-blue array of solar panels may look incongruous atop the two squat buildings here that, in the by-gone age of Cold War, were also designated as bomb shelters. But the Space-Age look from the rooftop photovoltaic assemblies on the administration offices of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) provides not just a faddish upgrade, but a necessary one.
SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the Subic agency is now adding renewable energy to its power mix with high hopes of generating substantial savings and keeping itself competitive for future business.
For starters, the SBMA has just equipped two of its main offices—Buildings 229 and 255—with a grid-tied solar power system that would save from 12 to 39 percent of their current electric consumption cost.
Last week, the project contractor, Kennedy Energy and Development Corp., had finished tapping the array of rooftop photovoltaic panels to existing power distribution mains in preparation for full systems switch-on, Eisma said.
Then, after 229 and 255, the SBMA will have six other buildings and facilities, including the Remy Field sports complex, up for similar solar system upgrades.
“SBMA is going green—which is not only good for the environment, but is even economically inevitable because that’s the way things are shaping up,” Eisma enthusiastically said on Monday. “You either shift to renewables, or become inefficient and less competitive.”
“With these solar power sources, we expect not only to save on electricity billings, but also to sell some of the excess power that we can export back to the grid,” Eisma said.
“That, you may say, is future-proofing an important aspect of SBMA operations,” she added.
Pilot project
THE grid-tied solar power system that SBMA is adopting makes use of free energy from the sun to supply power. The energy is harnessed with the use of solar panels, or photovoltaic modules that are mounted in a framework for installation.
The photovoltaic cells in the solar panels generate direct current electricity that is then supplied to electrical equipment, or stored in batteries.
The SBMA finally hopped onto the green bandwagon after a 10-kilowatt pilot project at the SBMA Regulatory Building ran successfully after installation in August 2018.
This was a full year before a bill calling for the installation of solar power systems in state-owned buildings was filed.
As the BusinessMirror reported on August 12, 2019, then Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto had noted that government agencies and local government units “consume at least P24 billion worth of electricity a year” and that such power consumption was “growing by P1 billion annually.”
According to records from the SBMA Telecommunications Department, which is the agency’s lead unit in the solar power project, SBMA’s pilot grid-tied solar power system generated 5,140 kilowatt-hours (kWh) during its first five months following installation in August 2018.
The following years yielded equally satisfactory results: a total of 13,381 kWh in 2019 and a total of 13,940 kWh in 2020.
The savings generated by the 10-kW system, meanwhile, reached P44,615 in the five months of 2018; P116,147 in 2019; and P130,871 last year, SBMA records showed.
Cost efficiency
WITH the convincing results from the pilot project, Eisma said they expect similar or better outcomes for the upgrades at Buildings 229 and 255, which compose the first phase of the SBMA solar power program.
“Our computations place savings in the vicinity of P807,476 each year for Building 255, with close to 39-percent reduction of electric consumption, while savings for Building 229 would be around P415,970 per year at close to 12-percent reduction of electricity use,” Eisma said.
According to Engr. Tony Rafanan of the SBMA Telecommunications Department, the installation of solar power systems in SBMA facilities would cost an average of P6 million per building, and in the case of Remy Field may reach P19 million.
However, each building installed with the solar power system will be able to generate savings ranging from P60,000 to P120,000 a month, depending on the generated power of the system, he said.
He explained that in the case of Building 229, which was installed with a solar power array of 153 square meters, the rated savings in power consumption was 12 percent. On the other hand, Building 255, which has a bigger solar array of 298 square meters, would generate savings of about 39 percent.
“The higher the generated power would be, the bigger the savings,” Rafanan added.
Investment returns
ASIDE from generating savings on electricity consumption, there is also the potential of earning some revenue from the grid-tied solar power system.
Rafanan explained that even as the grid-tied solar power system drastically reduces electricity bills, it could sell excess energy back to the grid via net metering. This would be true especially on weekends when most SBMA offices are closed and not much power is consumed.
He also pointed out that the system will also automatically prioritize the use of solar source, thus keeping the use of the grid at minimum level.
While the solar power system would entail significant costs for installation, Rafanan said that returns on investment come within just a few years, thereby making conversion to solar power attractive even more.
In the case of Buildings 229 and 255, Rafanan said that with a total project cost of P6,854,000, which is the bidder’s price for the two buildings, and with the cost of energy demand at P465,286 per month, each solar-powered building can deliver annual savings of P1.22 million.
“At this rate, we can already expect a return of investment or ROI in just 5.6 years, which is very favorable considering that the solar panels have a life expectancy of 25 years,” he also said.