Samar town’s main public building now solar-powered
Samar map. INQUIRER FILES
TACLOBAN CITY — The municipal building of Paranas town in Samar is now powered by a 48-kilowatt solar panel system.
The solarization project was made possible through a partnership with the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), a nongovernment organization focusing on climate resilience, sustainable energy solutions, and low-carbon development.
A total of 88 solar panels were installed on top of the municipal hall, making Paranas the first local government in Samar to transition its municipal hall to solar power.
The 48-kilowatt system can generate enough electricity to power about 30 to 35 households with an average consumption of 200 kWh per month.
“By institutionalizing partnerships between the private and public sectors, with the help of our development partners, we are confident that the government will be able to meet its target of achieving a 35-percent share in the power generation mix by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040,” said Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Mylene Capongcol in a video message.
Paranas, 97 km from Tacloban City, has been at the forefront of locally-led energy transition efforts since 2019 when it first adopted solar rooftops in its public buildings, including its evacuation center, municipal materials recovery facility, public schools in Barangays Concepcion, Paco, and Jose Roño, as well as a health center in Barangay Tutubigan.
Mayor Eunice Babalcon stressed that the solarization of the municipal hall brings significant benefits, including cost savings of more than P120,000 per month on electricity bills while contributing to environmental conservation.
“We’re just doing our part in helping communities and the environment,” Babalcon said in an online interview on Wednesday, April 2.
The mayor disclosed that the local government contributed by constructing an elevated platform where the 88 solar panels were mounted.
“There are even ornamental plants underneath the panels,” she added.
Babalcon shared that all municipal government-owned buildings in Paranas are now solar panel-ready.
She encouraged private households and business establishments across the town to consider switching to solar power as an energy source.
Babalcon assured that the solar energy supply would remain reliable even during typhoons or heavy rains.
“The solar system still functions even during storms or rainy weather because it has a battery. The energy is stored in the battery and can be used during power interruptions. If there is no battery, solar panels cannot be utilized during outages as there would be no storage for the energy,” she explained.
With the success of these solarization projects, Paranas will continue advancing its Just Energy Transition Agenda by institutionalizing renewable energy (RE) policies and initiatives.
These include developing a municipal RE ordinance and adopting voluntary RE projects from the Department of Energy.
The local government also aims to strengthen RE education and capacity-building programs in Paranas through collaborations with academic institutions, and the private sector.
“Paranas will once again serve as an inspiration to many municipalities and cities in Eastern Visayas and across the Philippines—a model that values cleaner and more sustainable energy sources for the future of their community,” said Angelo Kairos Dela Cruz, executive director of ICSC, in a press statement.
The partnership between ICSC and the local government of Paranas for this hybrid solar PV installation project was formalized through a memorandum of agreement signed in October 2024.
Paranas is the second municipality in Eastern Visayas to receive the project. Guiuan, Eastern Samar, became the first when its municipal hall was powered by solar panels on Feb. 27 this year.
READ: P15 million savings eyed from solar-powered Samar town hall
