We did it!
After long last, we finally got electricity at Binga Beach! When we brag about being “off the beaten path” out here we’re not joking, there isn’t even any electrical grid for us to join even if we wanted to. So, the choice is either a big generator or a big solar system. Being environmentally conscious we’ve gone solar, of course.
It takes a village…
But we’ve got a lot we need to power! Big kitchen, lots of amenities at the cottage, water pumps (we’re also independent of any municipal water or septic systems, we’re completely off the grid), bathrooms, the guest units and more – we need some real oomph. Thankfully Palawan has no shortage of powerful sunshine so that’s taken care of.
This system has to be robust, substantial and really professional. So a big heap of thanks goes out to Ms. Laney Huang at Bluesun PV in China for helping us figure out the details for this complete 10kW system comprised of massive and high-tech lithium batteries, 18 very modern monocrystalline solar panels, the appropriate inverters, switches and more. She was a great help to patiently go through the process with us – many thanks Laney!
Here you can see the system installed and looking pretty, well to our eyes at least.
Thank you also to Chris from Manila Redbox Cargo, whose great shipping and logistics services got it safely from his warehouse in China all the way to Puerto Princesa. We will definitely be using him again to import more specialized equipment and materials from there. Thanks Chris!
Picking up the huge system in Puerto and making the long drive to Binga was also a challenge and we especially thank Queenie Azarraga of Merqado.ph for the great care and cautious driving by her team to get this precious cargo to Binga in one piece.
Ok great we got a ton of solar panels and a lot of parts, how do you put this thing together? When in doubt Dave calls in the multi-talented “Port Barton Boys” who between them have decades of experience making things work here in Palawan. Without them we would have gotten this system all tangled up incorrectly, so a big shout out and thanks to Kyle Clark, Nico Sav, Ropert Domanski and leading this team was master electrician Julius Leuterio from San Vicente who did a fantastic job. Thanks guys!
Full power, now what?
Of course due to the coronavirus pandemic we sadly aren’t open yet so we currently have a ton of electricity to spare. Not letting it go to waste, we’ve run lines to our neighbors (the infamous Capt. Orville Distal, for example, no one can beat him at chess!) so they can give their diesel generators a rest and enjoy more peace and quiet. If you’re in the neighborhood and need to recharge your phone you’re more than welcome to drop by and plug in, we’ve got plenty of juice!
So here’s to the future. We’re proud to do our small part to help the environment. We could have gone much cheaper and got the same kW with a big diesel generator but climate change is real, we’re worried about it, and we believe that anywhere in our lives we can make a choice that helps rather than hurts we should (as much as we’re able, of course).
Proud to be 100% solar powered in 2020!”