On May 12, 2021, the Department of Energy-Mindanao field office held an IEC

Campaign on renewable energy and the Basics of Solar Photovoltaic Systems for
students at MSU-GSC. The seminar brought together all engineering students as well
as professors from various departments. The first topic to be discussed is Renewable
energy, which is presented by Engr. Rolando J. Fara-on, a Senior Science Research
specialist at DOE-Davao city. The presentation began with an overview of renewable
energy and its technologies. Biomass, Geothermal, Solar, Hydro, Ocean, and Wind
(BiGSHOW) are all renewable energy sources that occur naturally on our planet.

Biomass Energy System refers to energy produced by organic materials,

primarily plant matter, through thermochemical or biochemical processes. Wood and
wood wastes, coconut residues, municipal solid wastes, sugarcane residues, rice
residues, animal wastes, and other materials are among its resources. The biomass
energy system uses five different processes to generate electricity: gasification,
pyrolysis, digestion, fermentation, and solid fuel combustion.

They also talked about the Geothermal Energy System, which is part of the
Renewable Energy Act of 2008, also known as RA 9513. Geothermal energy is made
up of four components: a heat source, permeable reservoir rock, solid cap rock, and
geothermal fluid. They also showed us some of the facilities at the geothermal power
plant, such as the production steam pipeline, wellhead silencer, wellhead production
well, cooling tower, battery room, and control room.
They primarily discuss how solar, hydro, ocean, and wind energy systems generate
electricity.
Engr. Marloo Ray N. Belviz, Senior Science Research Specialist, DOE-Mindanao
Field Office, gave another presentation on the fundamentals of solar PV systems. He
spoke about the fundamentals of electricity, emphasizing the importance of
understanding solar PV systems. Moving on to the second module of his presentation
on the Basic Solar PV system, Solar PV Technology is a technology that converts solar
energy into electrical energy (DC). There are two types of solar PV systems: off-grid,
which is typically used by households in remote areas, and on-grid, which is used by
households in urban areas. He also discussed the components of a Solar PV system,
which include a Solar PV module (which converts solar energy into electricity), a battery
(which stores electricity), a charge controller (which protects the battery from
overcharge and overdischarge), a DC-AC inverter (which converts DC to AC), and a DC
Load - DC Light/lamp. In addition, proper solar PV sizing and computations are
required.

Engr. Ernesto P. Obelidhon, Chief Science Research Specialist, DOE –

Mindanao Field Office, was the last to speak about net-metering and solar rooftop. “Net-
Metering” (NM) is a system designed for distributed generation in which a distribution
grid user has a two-way connection to the grid and is only charged for his net electricity
consumption while being credited for any overall contribution to the grid. Net-metering
allows Distribution Utilities (DUs) customers to install an on-site Renewable Energy
(RE) facility with a capacity of no more than 100 kilowatts (kW) to generate electricity for
their own use. Any generated electricity that is not consumed by the customer is
automatically exported to the DU's distribution system.
 This diagram depicts the flow of electricity from power generation to the end user
via high voltage transmission and distribution utilities, who can now install a renewable
energy facility and send excess electricity back into the distribution grid, earning credit
for this export.

The orientations conclude with a few trivia questions and a photo opportunity with the
speakers.
Proof of attendance/registration on online renewable energy session.