TESTING FACILITY TO BOOST LOCAL SOLAR INDUSTRY

A solar testing facility of the Philippines located in the First Philippine Industrial Park in Tanauan, Batangas will help strengthen the solar power industry of the Philippines.

The testing facility is a product of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) and First Philec Solar Corporation.

Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Chair of COMSTE, lauded the opening of the testing facility as significant proof that government and industry collaboration works, and that continued PPP's can spur the growth of innovation especially in the fields of S&T.

The testing facility has 180 KW on-grid capacity, and is capable of testing photovoltaic (PV) modules for efficiency and resilience in field conditions, as opposed to being tested in laboratories in controlled environments.

COMSTE has been planning projects to enhance the use of solar power in the country. Through the new solar testing facility, local and foreign solar manufacturers can test panels for optimal output in tropical conditions.

Dr. Shigero Niki of Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, who heads their Solar Research and Testing Laboratory, expressed interest in sending PV for testing in the Philippines, noting that a testing facility here would be able to identify the proper engineering and technology for PV arrays and components which would be ideal for tropical conditions.

Manufacturing of electronic components for solar energy has been tagged by Semiconductor Electronics Industry of the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI) president Ernesto Santiago as having the potential to contribute to the growing $28 billion worth of exports generated by the local semiconductor industry.