Community-based small scale renewable energy projects are harnessing hydro, solar and/or wind power providing clean/affordable energy to rural poor Filipino villagers. To replicate these projects in other rural poor villages while ensuring efficiency and sustainability, SIBAT will establish "Center for Renewable Energy & Appropriate Technology (CREATech)" in Brgy. Estrada, Capas, Tarlac Province to provide trainings, information and local fabrication of parts for ~4,000 poor families.
Although the Philippines is endowed with abundant renewable energy resources, local design, fabrication and installations of small scale renewable energy systems are very minimal due to lack of information and skilled manpower for this. Meanwhile, some of SIBAT's renewable energy systems face frequent unnecessary downtimes and an overall shortened project lifespan because communities do not have enough experience to manage, maintain and operate these installations, moreso developing it further.
SIBAT will establish CREATech to provide (1) extended trainings/workshops on the management, maintenance, and operation of ~75 community-based renewable energy projects in the country; (2) facilitate research and development, designing, fabrication and evaluation of renewable energy technologies adaptive to site-specific rural conditions. As such, the project will help develop the local capability of rural communities to put up and maintain renewable energy systems appropriate to their locality.
CREATech will ensure: 1) more installations in a year of renewable energy systems that will benefit poor communities (~4,000 households) and will provide clean and affordable energy for lighting and increased livelihood activities such as rice/corn milling, handicraft making and ice making for fish storage; and 2) an increase in well-trained local operators that will enhance the reliability and efficiency of installed renewable energy systems thereby increasing its use, durability and lifespan.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
