Cooperatives urged to expand solar financing in Oriental Mindoro

CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — Renewable energy advocates have urged Oriental Mindoro cooperatives to expand solar financing programs to make clean, affordable electricity more accessible to households, farmers, fisherfolk, and small businesses.

They made the call during the Provincial Cooperatives’ Summit on Renewable Energy held in Calapan City on Friday, which encouraged cooperatives to use their microfinancing networks to help households and small enterprises acquire solar energy systems and reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.

Gerry Arances, executive editor of environmental crusader Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, said financing opportunities were necessary to make the transition to renewable energy affordable for ordinary consumers, who bear the economic and environmental costs of fossil fuel dependence.

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: Solar rush: Why Filipino households are turning to the sun

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

“When opportunities for solarization are financed, consumers can choose where they source energy,” Arances said.

Fr. Edwin Gariguez, convenor of the Church-led REnew Mindoro, said the province’s renewable energy potential remained largely untapped because of financing barriers faced by ordinary households and small businesses.

“The only way to truly push for the energy transition in Mindoro is by ensuring all players – whether they are consumers, cooperatives, or public servants – are doing their part,” Gariguez said.

Arances said shifting to renewable energy could help reduce carbon emissions and protect the Verde Island Passage’s marine ecosystems and coastal communities.

Article continues after this advertisement

Gariguez also stressed the importance of household and livelihood resilience amid the threat of a Super El Niño and other climate-related disasters.

He said access to affordable solar financing could help prepare vulnerable communities for the impacts of climate change.

Article continues after this advertisement

REnew Mindoro and CEED organized the summit in collaboration with the Oriental Mindoro Union Cooperative (OrMinCU) and the League of Cooperative Development Officers of the Philippines-Oriental Mindoro Chapter. /coa