Sun.Star: Bacolod mayor urged to support electric jeepneys

BACOLOD Mayor Evelio Leonardia has another challenge to face. This time from the representatives of Green Renewable Independent Power Producer Inc. (GRIPP) and Solar-Generation Youth who dared him to support electric jeepneys that will take the streets of Bacolod soon. In a statement, Athena Ballesteros, chairperson of the GRIPP Board and Greenpeace International’s Climate and Energy campaigner said, “We are calling on all Bacolod officials especially Mayor Leonardia to fast-track support to introduce electric jeepneys in the city under a project called “Climate Friendly Cities". We are also calling all of them (city officials) to step up and join the millions of voices around the world demanding climate action, Ballesteros said, adding that Bacolod can show the way towards sustainability and development based on clean energy. The Climate Friendly Cities project, the first of its kind in the Philippines and in the Asian region, is an integrated approach to solving urban environmental problems while creating innovative solutions for mitigating climate change through a range of cutting-edge technologies. The project will begin full operations with a fleet of 50 electric jeepneys within a three year period. Launched recently in Manila, the jeepneys will run on batteries that will be charged by a power plant fueled by biogas. The biogas will be generated from a high solid anaerobic digester (HSAD) using a feedstock of organic waste collected from the commercial food establishments and wet markets of the City. GRIPP Inc., the project’s proponent, is a consortium of private sector and non-government organizations working towards making Negros a renewable energy reserve. The goal of the project is to introduce an alternative to the local, diesel-based, small public transport system that will not only reduce air pollution, carbon emissions and the solid waste stream but will also provide enhanced incomes to the drivers of these vehicles. Leonardia was presented with a youth declaration entitled: “Our Climate, Our City, Our Challenge" as well as a draft Memorandum Of Agreement between the city and GRIPP. “We decided to confront Mayor Bing in a creative way to enlist his unequivocal support to the Climate Friendly Cities project. We have been working with GRIPP to make this project a reality, and despite their efforts at securing a resolution from the City Council or MOA from the office of the Mayor, GRIPP has received no written support from the city and no concrete measures to provide the counterpart services and resources to make this pilot project a success," said Karla de Guia, one of the volunteers of Solar Generation Negros who presented the declaration. Mayor Leonardia has promised GRIPP and Solar Generation that he will fast- track the drafting of the MOA with the proponents. “We don’t want empty words, we demand real action. We hope you will honor this commitment", added de Guia. “GRIPP has been meeting with local officials for almost 2 years now, exploring ways to secure firm commitments that will demonstrate the city’s ownership of this project, de Guia added. She said their team has also done much to make this a highly exciting pilot for Bacolod. “We chose Bacolod as it is the provincial capital of Negros Occidental, declared by the national government as the first ever province whose development shall be powered by renewable energy and home of the 100 percent Mabuhay Renewable Energy Negros Campaign," she explained. We remain hopeful that the city council and the city leaders would lead the way without wasting any more time," said Reina Garcia, GRIPP Coordinator based in Negros. GRIPP led the development of the project together with partner organizations such as Greenpeace and Solar Electric Co. It has successfully secured funding for the initial fleet of 50 electric jeeps. “We have been providing technical, financial, human resource support for this project since 2005. We have worked intensively to develop this project so we can pilot this in Bacolod. Now, it is being handed to the city on a silver plate. All the city has to do is deliver the required counterpart services," added Ballesteros. - Sun.Star