Kidapawan City’s solar-powered feed mill under EU program ready for operation 

A 50-KILOWATT solar-powered feed mill in Kidapawan City has been completed and expected to be operational within the first quarter this year, the local government announced.  

The P6.46-million facility was built under the Integration of Productive Uses of Renewable Energy for Sustainable and Inclusive Energization (I-PURE) in Mindanao funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).   

Kidapawan Mayor Jose Paolo M. Evangelista said in a statement that the city government, which will manage the storage and milller, will save on energy cost for processing corn and rice used as feeds for farm animals.   

The on-grid green energy facility is located at the City Agriculture Office’s Demo Farm.   

The feed mill is one of the 10 pilot projects under the I-PURE Mindanao program, which combine agricultural and renewable energy development by supporting areas that are already productive but unable to expand due to lack of power supply.   

EU has provided about P264.91 million for the program, which covers communities within the provinces of Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and Cotabato in the Soccsksargen region, and Tawi-Tawi and Lanao del Sur in the Bangsamoro region.   

At least three of these solar-agri project sites also include provisions for delivering power supply to households.   

“It will provide electricity to widely dispersed households. It will also increase the quality of life in those areas and bring clear benefits including to women and children. We hope that this will serve as a platform to scale up access to renewable energy solutions in far-flung areas,” Ileana Miritescu, program manager for energy of the EU delegation to the Philippines, said in a forum in 2021 when the program was launched. — MSJ