[Save] April 23 seminar-First large-scale photovoltaic/hydro grid-connected project in Developing world

[Karen Gibson]

Cepalco

Ramon Abaya, Chairman and CEO, Cagayan Electric Power and Light 
Company, Inc., and President, Mindanao Energy Systems, Inc.
Ed Kern, Research Engineer, MIT Lab for Energy and the Environment

Friday, April 23, 2004
2:00-3:30 pm
E40-496

The developing world's first large scale joint photovoltaic / hydro 
grid-connected project is undergoing final acceptance testing in the 
Philippines. The Cagayan de Oro Power & Light Company (CEPALCO), a 
private utility based on the island of Mindanao, has installed  a 1 
MW on-grid field of PV modules at a cost of approximately US$5 
million to maximize the efficiency of the 7 MW Bubunawan 
hydroelectric facility that has recently been put into service. The 
proposed PV installation is being designed to meet peak power needs 
during the daytime and allow the dam, which has insufficient water 
flow to run 24/7, to store capacity for evening use. The PV plant is 
constructed about 5 km southeast of the business district in the city 
of Cagayan de Oro, which is located within CEPALCO's distribution 
system, thus avoiding transmission and distribution losses.

The project is the first significant use of grid-connected PV in a 
developing country. The project concept is being promoted by IFC and 
GEF as a demonstration of the environmental and economic benefits of 
the combined use of hydro and PV-based power (if PV prices eventually 
fall as independent experts predict). According to certain studies, 
there are approximately 360,000 MW of potentially suitable hydro 
plants in high solar insolation regions in developing countries that 
could benefit from combined hydro / PV projects.

This seminar will also include a discussion by Mr. Abaya of 
developments in the evolution of the electric power sector in the 
Philippines and an overview on some technical details of the PV and 
hydro systems that form this World Bank / IFC / GEF pilot project by 
Dr. Kern from the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment.

Mr. Ramon Abaya is chairman and CEO of Cagayan Electric Power and 
Light Company, Inc., and president of Mindanao Energy Systems, Inc. 
He is also the director of the Philippine Electric Plant Owner 
Association that works on energy policy and regulation. He has 
experience working with the Philippine government's incentives for 
renewable energy development projects. Mr. Abaya received his BA in 
history and government from Ateneo de Manila University, MBA from the 
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, MPA from Harvard's 
Kennedy School of Government, and MS in financial economics from the 
University of London.

Part of the Environment and Sustainability Seminar Series sponsored 
by the MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment 
<http://lfee.mit.edu>

Light refreshments will be provided.

-- 
_________________________________
Karen  L. Gibson
Program Assistant
MIT Laboratory For Energy and the Environment
77 Massachusetts Avenue, E40-469
(1 Amherst St., E40-469 - for DHL and FedEx)
Cambridge, MA 02139  USA
Tel:  1 (617) 258-6368; Fax:  1 (617) 258-6590
http://lfee.mit.edu
http://globalsustainability.org
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