Solar Energy in the Philippines

Every crisis is also an opportunity to enact positive change. We are driven by our vision for a more sustainable future in the tourism industry and want to react to the social and economical consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• We run our Hotel as a family business in Santa Fe, Bantayan Island.
• With photovoltaic we can react to the economical and social consequences of COVID-19 by contributing to a more ecological tourism industry in the Philippines.
• On our island, electricity is costly, produced mainly by diesel-fueled generators, and service is also often interrupted.
• Accommodation establishments in the Philippines consume a lot of electricity produced only by fossil fuels. Together with your help we can be part of the change for a more sustainable tourism industry.

With a photovoltaic system, our hotel and home could both become independent of the heavily polluting local power plants and avoid the frequent power cuts – to the benefit of our guests, natural environment and global climate.

With your help our project could start as soon as 2022!

What We Need & What You Get

Kindly have a look at our campaign details and goals:

• In order to provide a full (24/7) service of electricity produced by solar energy we need photovoltaic panels covering our entire roof space (approx. 140 sqm.) like also a battery storage of around 30 kWh (2x battery of 15 kWh).
• To finance the solar plant we need funding of EUR 80’000 (around USD 90’000).
• For your contribution we are very happy to welcome you in our place where we will provide you a unique and all inclusive stay on Bantayan Island for two persons!
• For all contributions of EUR 50 or above we will engrave your (Nick-)Name on our Wall of Fame at the pergola in our garden.
• However, if we do not reach our goal, the remaining money will be contributed to our valuable staff who have been supporting us all through the crisis of the pandemic.

Our Vision

We want to use the abundant energy of the sun not only for moments of happiness for our guests, but also for independent climate-neutral production of power:

• With this campaign, we primarily want to set an example for the sustainable development of the tourism industry in the Philippines.
• Like many other countries in Southeast Asia, tourism also is one of the most important sources of economic income for the Philippines.
• At the same time, the energy for accommodations and other tourist establishments is produced mainly through fossil fuels.
• Today, the Philippines produces around 88% of its energy with fossil fuels with an energy consumption of 530 TWh per year by a population of 108.1 Mio. (Source: https://ourworldindata.org).

• In the crisis-ridden era of pandemic and global warming, it is finally time to move forward with a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable future.

Project Specs

• Average Sunshine hours per day on Bantayan Island: 5.83h *
• Average Energy Consumption Monthly (70% Occupancy): 3422 kWh **
• Roof Space (entire): 222 m2
• Roof Space (usable, 65%): 144.5 m2
• Standard Size Solar Panel: 1m x 1.7m = 1.7m2
• Number of Solar Panels: 85
• Av. Solar Electricity Production (Monthly): 4519 kWh

* Source: https://beach-weather.com
** Source: Monthly Electricity Bill (Bantayan Island Electricity Corp. BANELCO)

Feel free to download our project specs right here:

The Solar Project – Bantayan Island (Specification)

Through Solar Energy we could produce more than 120% of our monthly energy usage with an average Occupancy of 70%. The average monthly electricity bill is about 10% of the total cost under normal operation and around 6% of the monthly revenue.

Risks & Challenges

The electricity supply for Bantayan Island is provided by the local Electricity Corporation. Since the Island is a protected wilderness area, it was always difficult to build stable infrastructure to supply the entire Island contentiously with electricity – power outages are not uncommon on Bantayan Island.

Although it is obvious that the sun is one of the most efficient energy sources on the island, there are hardly any incentives for private persons or companies to invest in sustainable solar energy.

Thus, the financial incentives for solar energy remain modest, especially since the purchase of a solar system is too expensive for most local households. And there are also doubts that the feed-back of excess solar energy into the main grid would be accepted and financially compensated by the electricity supplier. Nevertheless, we still could supply our neighbors directly with solar power.

But we remain hopeful that the electrical supply on our island will improve (as it already happened in the last year) and hope that we can successfully cooperate with the local electricity corporation in the future. This is not only for the sustainable development of our business, but also for the further development of Bantayan Island, whose visitor numbers increase each year.

We do not know yet when the Philippines will open its doors again to foreign tourists from all over the world – we really hope that it will be soon. But don’t worry, the perks you can avail here for stays on Bantayan Island are valid for two years (until 31.12.2023).

Please be kindly advised that this is a flexible funding campaign. With flexible funding, we keep all funds, even if we do not meet our goal. All the contributions are non-refundable but we are very happy to provide you an amazing stay at our place or immortalize you on our wall of fame.

Sharing is Caring

We are happy for any kind of support:

• Visit our Instagram, Facebook Page or Website for more information and share it to your social community. We really do appreciate your engagement!
• Feel free to visit our listings on Booking.com or Airbnb.
• However, a very convenient way is still to use the Indiegogo share tools!