Potential renewable energy sources in Cebu to be tackled in PIA Kapihan
By Fayette C. Riñen
‘as DOE launches Nat’l Renewable Energy Program’’
CEBU CITY, June 17 (PIA) --- In a paradigm shit to lessen dependence on fossil fuel with its constantly climbing prices, the Department of Energy (DOE) earlier this week launched theNational Renewable Energy Program (NREP) in order to achieve the ultimate goal of energy self-sufficiency for the country at the same time addressing the global issue of climate change.
The NREP harnesses the potentials of wind, solar, hydro and biomass for a more sustainable energy supply in the future.
How Cebu can contribute to the development of such renewable energy sources will be the main discussion of the PIA Kapihan next Wednesday, June 22 with top officials of the DOE-7 as main panelists.
Previous reports stated that there are at least two municipalities in Cebu that can be tapped forwind energy. These are the towns of Carmen in the north and Oslob in the south where the former has more than a thousand-megawatt potential, this according to Vince Cinches of the Central Visayas Fisherfolk Development Center (Fidec).
The same report stated the possibility of the Mactan Channel to be tapped for tidal energy, Cinches added.
DOE-7 officials also reported earlier that there are some areas in Cebu that can be tapped as feasible solar sources.
Energy Sec. Rene Almendras however, in a previous visit to Cebu, told reporters that the generation of solar power is expensive due to the high costs of the technology to be used.
When expensive technology is adopted, then it naturally follows that power rates would also go up, Almendras bared.
But Almendras pointed out that that there is no other direction to go except the use of renewable energy sources amid the relentless increases of oil prices in the world market.
In his speech during the NREP launching, Almendras said that at present, one-third of the country’s installed generating capacity come from renewable energy sources. However, only 26.3 percent of the total electricity produced last year came from these plants, he claimed.
The NREP roadmap aims to boost renewable energy-based capacity by three-fold in the next 19 years or by 2030, this is said.
Earlier this year, a two-day summit on ‘The Cebu Green Economy Series: Renewable Energy Summit’ was held in March which was the first in the country and attended by various stakeholders including environmentalists, academe, local government units and non-government organizations.
Next month, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines will hold the 2nd PhilippineEnergy Efficiency Forum in Cebu City which basically aims to contribute to the national effort towards energy security and low carbon future through energy efficiency. (PIA 7-Cebu)
==========
Ancient burial site in northern Cebu town yields
skeletal remains of woman, dates back to Iron Age
By Eli C. Dalumpines
By Eli C. Dalumpines
’local anthropologists believe excavation site oldest in Cebu’
SAN REMIGIO, CEBU, June 17 (PIA) – An archeological dig conducted by a team from
the University of San Carlos (USC), University of the Philippines (UP) and University of Guam in an ancient burial site in San Remigio town, some 109 kilometers northwest from Cebu’s capital yields three earthen pots and a skeletal remains of a woman.
the University of San Carlos (USC), University of the Philippines (UP) and University of Guam in an ancient burial site in San Remigio town, some 109 kilometers northwest from Cebu’s capital yields three earthen pots and a skeletal remains of a woman.
Professor Jojo Bersales of the USC’s Anthropology Department informed that their latest discovery dates back to the Iron Age, estimated to be around 500 B.C. to 900 A.D., and are part of the artifacts they excavated from the same site in March, this year.
According to Bersales, their latest finds made up the 7th burial site they have uncovered so far since they started digging the area in early summer after they got permission from church authorities.
Bersales’ group from USC uncovered six burial sites at the backyard of San Juan Nepomuneno Church in San Remigio during a dig they conducted on March 25-April 17, this year.
Also recovered in the site are 10 earthen wares which, according to experts, were part of the Philippine pre-historic artifacts.
The absence of ceramics in the site is a proof that the settlement is earlier than the coming of the Chinese to the Philippines, the anthropology professor claimed.
“Definitely, there was no Chinese influence here. They may have traded with other local people but not with the Chinese,” Bersales clarified.
San Juan Nepomuceno Church was built in 1863 by the Spanish missionaries. The following year, the town of San Remigio, which started as a visita of Bogo, was founded.
Students from Hawaii, Canada and Vietnam also assisted Bersales’ team in the conduct of the archeological dig.
Local government officials here expressed optimism that with this latest archeological finds, San Remigio, a third class town, will be placed in the map as having one of the earliest settlements in Asia.
Local anthropologists here believed the team has excavated the oldest undisturbed archeological site in Cebu. (FCR/ECD/PIA 7-Cebu)