Ms sect c 20161225 sunday

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2016

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor / Roderick dela Cruz, Issue Editor business@thestandard.com.ph

ATENEO MEN BUILD SOLAR SARI-SARI STORE A

GROUP of alumni from Ateneo de Manila University banded together to form a company that aims to deliver electricity from the sun to remote communities in the Philippines.

“Solar Solutions Inc. is a social enterprise. We aim to empower communities through renewable energy and one of our products and services is called Solar Sari Sari Store—an energy station that offers basic services to offgrid communities,” says Rey Guerrero, a co-founder of Solar Solutions Inc. Solar Sari Sari Store enables people in distant communities such as secluded mountain villages and remote islands that are not connected to a power grid to recharge their phones or use bright lighting at night. The solar station is also most useful on the sites of natural disasters, where electricity is cut off. Guerrero, 31, is now the fulltime operations manager of Solar Solutions, which is based at ISO Building in the Ateneo de Manila University complex, Loyola Heights, Quezon City. A graduate of Electronics and Communications Engineering from Ateneo, he had worked for a semiconductor company and a solar panel production company in Laguna before deciding to establish Solar Solutions with other Ateneo alumni, coming from various disciplines such as mathematics, engineering, entrepreneurship, information technology, finance and law. Guerrero now pursues a doctorate degree in microgrid power system, which refers to an energy system consisting of distributed energy sources and loads capable of operating in parallel with, or independently from, the main power grid. Aside from Guerrero, other people behind Solar Solutions are Raffy Concepcion, an ECE graduate who is in charge of communications and marketing; Ken Abellanosa, the head engineer; Eric Santillan, the leadership consultant; Reese Macabebe who holds a PhD in Physics; Rey Barcelon who

is in charge of finance and administrative operations; Aison Garcia, the general manager and legal officer; Javy Alpasa, a Jesuit priest and social entrepreneur; Vince Rapisura, a microfinance exper t; and Rick Laping, a community development specialist. “We are alumni of Ateneo. We have come from different background. We have decided to go full blast with Solar Solutions,” says Guerrero. “We are basically a system i n t e g r a t o r. W e g e t t h e components such as solar panels, batteries and the lamps, and we design the system appropriate for the needs of the community and the needs of the individual,” he says. Solar Solutions is one of the three groups that won the sixmonth fellowship program and P800,000 in financial support from Impact Hub Manila, World Wide Fund for Nature, Peace and Equity Foundation and the Asian Development Bank. Other awardees are HiGi Energy Pte. Ltd. and Cleverheat Thermal Technologies Inc. Solar Solutions presented the concept of Solar Sari Sari Store during the competition. “ What we presented is an energy solution. We designed the system such that it could be easily deployed to off-grid communities. It requires less maintenance, because it is very far to reach. We have to make sure that maintenance is easy and affordable,” says Guerrero. “We are able to do that by partnering with local organizations and NGOs like WWF. They know the people on the ground and they know how the community works. We become their technical partner,” says Guerrero. In a television interview, Concepcion who is in charge of Solar Sari Sari Store says it is actually a solar station—a 20-foot container, with solar panels on

DIGONG, TRUMPET ROCK THE NEW YEAR

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INVENTOR Francisco ‘Popoy’ Pagayon named two of his newly designed electronic firecrackers after President Rodrigo Duterte and incoming US President Donald Trump. Pagayon says while his electronic cannon-type firecrackers make boisterous and loud sounds, they are so safe they can be lit up inside the living room. “I named them differently. The small cannon-type model is called Boy, the big one is Digong and the group of four is TrumPet,” says Pagayon. The Boy e-firecracker was n a m e d a f te r S c i e n ce a n d Technology Secretary Fortunato ‘Boy’ dela Pena, who is an active supporter of Filipino inventors, he says.

SOLAR MAN.

Solar Solutions Inc. co-founder Rey Guerrero

top and windows to showcase the products inside such as solar lanterns. “We also have mobile chargers, water purifiers,” says Concepcion. “We are trying to make it more sustainable, cheaper to produce and we are trying to streamline all the technologies that go into it,” he says. Guerrero says the station is like a small store that distributes solar products and solutions such as a drinking water system powered by solar energy, solarpowered cellphone chargers, portable solar lamps and 50watt solar power systems. “I nstead of them using kerosene and candles, they can avail of our solar lamp that is charged through our station and they can rent it for a minimal fee,” he says, referring to customers of Solar Sari Sari Store.

Guerrero says the cash prize from Impact Hub will help the enterprise expand its portfolio of products and services. “We are trying to scale up, so that more communities can avail of our solutions. We are getting investors... Aside from communities, we also offer commercial installations,” he says. Guerrero believes in the potential of solar energy as a major source of power. “Basically, we are transitioning from the conventional and dirty source of energy and solar is one of the renewable energy that is available,” he says. “We reached grid parity. It means the cost of renewable or solar energy is the same, or even cheaper than what we are getting right now,” he says. Roderick T. dela Cruz

ABOITIZ TEAM MEMBERS BRING CHRISTMAS JOY TO CHILDREN ABOITIZ team members have recently shared their time and delivered Christmas cheer and goodies to 500 indigent children from Aboitiz host communities in Cebu and Manila as a part of the Aboitiz Group’s annual Christmas outreach. Over 200 team members from Aboitiz Equit y Ventures, Aboitiz Foundation, AboitizLand, AboitizPower, Pilmico, SN Aboitiz Power, and Weather Philippines Foundation served as big brothers and sisters to children from SOS Children’s Village and Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu and Barangay Central Signal Village in Taguig City on Dec. 3, 2016. The children experienced a fun halfday party featuring games, mascot and magic shows, and performances from some Aboitiz team members. The children also received toys placed in boxes as well as Noche Buena packages for their families. “Seeing the innocent smiles of

TrumPet e-firecrackers

these kids is a blessing that shapes our perspective towards humility and gratitude. We are reminded that more than the amount of any CSR [corporate social responsibility] project, it is the personal time of our team members set aside for spreading goodwill that is of greater value,” said AEV president and chief executive Erramon Aboitiz. The Aboitiz Christmas outreach has become an annual tradition for Aboitiz team members to give back and bring simple joy to children during Christmas. Led by the Christmas outreach committee, team members initiate fundraising activities such as trivia night, give-a-gift, bingo, love in a shoebox, among others, to prepare for the actual children’s party. The Aboitiz Foundation is an organization of compassionate service, one that can be counted on to provide assistance to those in need as part of its thrust to promote health and well-being for a better world.

Digong e-firecracker “They are all safe to use inside houses for the New Year’s Eve celebration. With cannon-type electric firecrackers, celebrants will avoid triggering fires and injuries while producing the same explosive, startling sounds,” he says. Pagayon, the president and chief executive of Filipino Inventors Society Producers Cooperative, says the innovative product is ideal during the New Year ’s Eve celebration, as President Rodrigo Duterte discourages the use of traditional pyrotechnics which result in people losing their limbs. A ban on pyrotechnics has been enforced in Davao City since 2002. Pagayon says e-firecrackers also do not emit toxic smoke and harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. The cannon-type e-firecrackers provide the same thrill to celebrants, because the users need to light up the trigger before they can produce successive explosive sounds, he says. He explains that e-firecrackers produce rapid explosive sounds, without causing an actual explosion. This is because e-firecrackers consist of electronics that load electricity to produce strong sounds, similar to the explosions caused by piccolo firecrackers. The cannon-type e-firecrackers are produced by Oral Educational Distributor and showcased at FISPC Showroom and Business Center at Delta Building along Quezon Ave. corner West Ave. in Quezon City. “Let’s welcome the New Year without injuries and damages on properties. The cannon-type electric firecrackers also do not cause air pollution and waste. It is a Filipino innovation for the world celebration of New Year’s Eve,” says Pagayon. Roderick T. dela Cruz


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