Samar: Weeks of darkness following devastating storms may soon be a thing of the past for residents of a remote coastal village here, thanks to a group of engineering students who developed a community-based renewable energy system. The hybrid project-combining mini-solar and hydro power-now supplies 2,880 watts of power to the village hall and 16 streetlights, benefiting more than 1,000 residents of Navatas Guti, a small fishing community long plagued by unreliable power.
According to Philippines News Agency, the initiative, dubbed 'Development of a Solar Powered Regenerative System as Alternative Energy Source,' was designed and built by Ivan Dave Casero, Paul De Luna, Russel Gales, and Christine Joy Pe±alosa, who are graduating Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering students at Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU) in Tacloban City. For months, the team endured long hours of travel by land and sea to bring the project to life in the far-flung village.
Village chief Perla Lauzon expressed gratitude for the initiative, recalling how power outages often lasted one to two weeks after destructive typhoons. 'When there is a power outage, it becomes completely dark, and it takes a long time for electricity to be restored. We are often the last priority because we are far from the town center,' Lauzon said. 'With this project, we now have brighter nights and a place to charge our mobile phones,' she added.
To sustain the system, the village council has committed to allocating about 20 percent of its annual budget to maintenance. Gales, the project team leader, said they conceptualized the hybrid system after learning about the community's energy challenges. 'If it were solar alone, it would not be enough, especially during rainy days, so we integrated a hydro pump system,' he said.
The project cost around PHP170,000, funded through the students' personal contributions and support from village officials. The system solves the village's long-standing problem of frequent outages by offering a reliable, sustainable power source, especially for the village hall, a key site for governance, community activities, and disaster response. It integrates solar photovoltaic technology with a pumped hydroelectric energy storage system.
During the day, solar panels generate electricity to power a submersible pump and charge batteries. The pump lifts water from a deep well into an elevated storage tank. When sunlight is unavailable, stored water is released to drive a turbine connected to a generator, producing electricity. Unlike conventional hydroelectric systems, the setup does not rely on rivers or a continuous natural water flow, making it suitable for remote or off-grid communities.
De Luna, a team member who resides in the village, said the local government helped secure permits, funding, and manpower for construction and installation. Thesis adviser Jay Gabriel Jimenez praised the students' perseverance despite the challenges they faced throughout the project. 'This is just the beginning of their journey. In the future, they may become electrical engineers who will bring meaningful innovations to their communities,' he said.
Meanwhile, EVSU School of Engineering Dean Vinyl Oqui±o emphasized the university's push for community-based research with practical impact. 'One of our goals is for students to develop projects that directly benefit communities. For us, a project that does not serve people is meaningless,' he said. Designed to align with the area's topography and available resources, the system can be scaled up or replicated in other remote communities with similar energy challenges.
