21 new villages in Mindanao experience light at night

Twenty-one barangays in eight municipalities in the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur were recently energized through an Alliance for Mindanao Off-grid Renewable Energy (AMORE) – Department of Energy (DoE) partnership. The installation of 111 photovoltaic (PV) units in the two provinces was completed in February of this year, and brings to 396 the total number of community beneficiaries since AMORE’s inception in 2002.

The residents of Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur are now enjoying the benefits of lighting on their communal facilities such as barangay halls, schools, and the streets. They speak of a sense of security at night when they have the benefit of streetlights and lit barangay halls during their evening community gatherings. A strengthened bond among community members is one effect of light that is often mentioned.

AMORE is a USAID-funded project being implemented by US-based nonprofit organization, Winrock International. Its partners in rural electrification are the Philippine Department of Energy, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Mirant Philippines Foundation. It energizes remote, conflict-affected communities in Mindanao – most of which are in the ARMM – using renewable energy sources such as solar and microhydro.

AMORE shares the vision of the Philippine government of 100 percent barangay electrification. Moreover, it strives to make the benefits long-lived by infusing sustainability mechanisms, namely, the organizing of the community into Barangay Renewable Energy and Community Development Association (BRECDA), and training of a maximum of two local residents in photovoltaic technology for the system’s operation and maintenance. The BRECDA is tasked to oversee the operation of the system, and collect the operations and maintenance fund for the system’s expansion.

To date, AMORE has energized a total of 11,305 households, benefiting close to 70,000 individuals, all over Mindanao. Nine hundred (900) more households are projected to benefit from the installation of more solar home systems (SHS) and three microhydro stations (MHs), which are expected to be completed in September 2007.