President Benigno S. Aquino III inaugurated Wednesday the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (Pagasa) new radar tower station in Catanduanes.
He also inspected the newly developed Solong and Hitoma 1 Hydroelectric Power Plants which is seen as tool to boost development in the island province on the Pacific Ocean/Philippine Sea East Coast of the 7,700+ island nation.
Upon his arrival, the President unveiled the marker of the new radar station and had a briefing on the two projects put up in the province.
“By harnessing the nurturing power of nature and by dealing with nature’s fury, we can be sure that better days await the people of Catanduanes,” the President said in his message following the inauguration rites.
“We are allowing them once again to be very optimistic about their futures… the renewed optimism is here, not just in Catanduanes, not just within the country but around the world,” he said.
The Solong and Hitoma 1 mini-hydro plants are the first ever to be developed by a private entity—Sunwest Water and Electricity Inc. in the small island grids covered by the special power utilities groups (SPUG) of the National Power Corp.
If developed further for additional hydropower capacity, Catanduanes will be the first island grid in the country to source most of its power needs from a renewable source.
The hydro-electric plants use run-of-river method that doesn’t cause any inundation that affects nearby communities. The system only requires diversion of weir.
Once operational, the Solong and Hitoma 1 plants will relieve consumers outside Catanduanes of at least P100 million in subsidies for bunker and diesel-based power generation.
Meanwhile, the Virac (Bato) radar station, the first of three Doppler radar stations being put up in Luzon using Japanese technology, aims to effectively mitigate the devastation caused by tropical cyclones and other severe weather phenomena.
It will also enhance the capability of PAGASA-DOST to monitor tropical cyclones, especially those coming from the Pacific Ocean, thereby protecting lives and properties.
The new radar system will also enable PAGASA to conduct more extensive monitoring of severe weather conditions and its associated hazards such as intense rainfall, destructive winds and transmit information real-time for a more efficient processing and analysis.
Heavy rainfall, which triggers flooding and landslides, could easily be detected by PAGASA using the new weather tool