Our educational trip itinerary
c/o Reiner Travel and Tours!
And again.. just like any other trip i've been into.. the departure from Davao did not excite me.. it could not make me look forward to whatever it is i am about to experience. However, they asked me to lead the tour prayer. and i tried to pray as sincerely as i can.. what struck me about my prayer was that i asked God for humility - humility to be able to accept that i am so much ignorant and that i should seek knowledge and make the most out of the trip. i thought about my prayer a bit, but it did not make me feel any better about the trip though.
on the trip to Cagayan de Oro (City of Golden Friendships), i felt very uncomfortable inside the van. i wanted to sleep and i'm adopting a very uneasy position. i felt like i'm going to have a stiff neck upon arrival.
i don't actually know how this educational, 3-day tour would change me. i even doubted the schedule!! how could we follow the tight schedule of activities? For sure, this would be a time disaster! That is why i was pretty impressed when we came to the first plant 15 minutes before the time. i was excited then because some of my classmates who had been there before said that it was a cool plant because the atmosphere was so vintage. i was crushed, however, to know that we were not allowed to tour in the production area. WHAT?!?!?! we were only allowed into the conference room. i was in a pretty bad mood then. Could anything be worse? Anyhow, i remembered my prayer. so i tried to focus on learning something new. :) i learned that iron ores are sent to the plant to be processed so that they become lumpy and suitable for further processing. This further processing, however, is done in Japan. The Philippine Sinter Corporation, therefore, has only one customer, and that's their mother company in Japan. This made me remember something. Philippines is usually so good in producing just raw materials. These are low cost raw materials that are bought by other countries to be manufactured and processed to produce high cost products. This is why Philippines, compared to other countries, are earning so low. Besides, lots of companies in the Philippines are owned by outsiders. It's time that Filipinos should step up.
Philippine Sinter Corporation
Courtesy of Adventures of Life blog
~ooOoo~
We directly went to Pilipinas Kao Incorporated. The company utilizes coconuts to produce oleochemicals which would be used further to produce numerous products like shampoos, lotions, etc. Again, they are supplying to their mother/sister company in Japan. i like this company because they have this crescent moon near in their company name. Also, this was an interesting visit because one electrical engineering student asked just one simple question and it was like everything about electrical connections was shared to us. it was amazing how everything was monitored by machine. They would know whether there was a very slight increase or decrease in their energy consumption, or whether there is some deviation to some operation temperatures. Fortunately, we were toured around the plant via the company bus. it was a really large plant, and very cool too. :D
Pilipinas Kao Jasaan Misamis Oriental
Courtesy of Gly
~ooOoo~
The next day, we visited Tanduay Distillers Inc. They were the only company who required us to wear hairnets. We were toured around the plant and i learned the difference about distilled and demineralized water. i have realized really the beauty here of wood, specifically oak, essence, and aging. There really is so much deep and magical about nature.
Tanduay Distillers Inc.
50 mL Giveaway! ;)
~ooOoo~
Next stop in the afternoon is the beautiful Maria Cristina Falls! :D Then, i was excited as can be! We were heading towards one of the most magical places in Mindanao! :D
The concept of this plant was basically related to the electrical engineers. i just noticed that a lot of the employees who received us are quite old. i just hope that they pass on to younger ones the wisdom behind the plant's power generation. But that is basically what they're doing - receiving and teaching students who visit them. :) it was a very enlightening and refreshing tour. i learned that the turbines aren't really found at the foot of the falls. Water from the falls are sent into a big pipe, decreasing the surface area of flow, thereby increasing the velocity of flow and causing the turbines to run faster leading to the generation of more electricity. That's genius!! this is just pure renewable energy converted to electricity and making homes alight! It was just sad because i think and somebody said that the efficiency of the plant has gone lower over the years because of low maintenance. i hope the government would do something about it.
i learned that the water from the falls are actually from Lake Lanao. As water travels, potential energy of the water is utilized to produce mechanical energy which is converted to electrical energy. The river is named Agus (which means flow) and along it are seven stops, Agus I to Agus VII. these seven stops are seven generators, each designed according to the location and water flow/current.
Agus River Power Plants
Courtesy of Meet the X-plorers Blog
NAPOCOR Hydro Power Plant (Agus VII)
behind us is a koi pond with really fat kois!
courtesy of photographer Val
i was so glad to have seen kois in the Agus VII power plant. They remind me of yin and yang in Avatar: the Last Airbender. They remind me of Zuko and Katara!! ♥ Unfortunately, the kois are not seen in the picture. But with us is Mr. Insightful (i don't know what his name is) who explained to us patiently the concept of the plant's electricity generation.
NAPOCOR Hydro Power Plant (Agus VII)
my classmates with the turbine behind us
Courtesy of photographer and tour guide sir Nilo
Maria Cristina Falls
NAPOCOR Hydro Power Plant (Agus VI)
Courtesy of photographer Gly :)
Going to Agus VI plant, we were greatly dumbfounded at the falls' power. i later learned that the amount of water falling could actually be adjusted based on the amount of water in the reservoir in Agus VII. i was just sad because humans greatly modified the flow of nature. Anyhow, at least they modified it for good. And this energy source is renewable. :)
~ooOoo~
Our fifth plant visit was in Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company. It was a hot day, but i know it's gonna be worth it. The concept of this power generation is the capture of light energy from the sun via solar panels. These light energies are converted to direct current electricity. Then, through inverters, direct current electricity is converted into low alternating current electricity. Low voltage is stepped up to high voltage power through power transformer. Then high voltage power is fed into distribution network, and so consumers can use electricity.
Solar panels are composed of silica, the second most abundant element on Earth. But instead of using monocrystalline which are more efficient, they were using polycrystalline cells which are cheaper. The company had operated for 9 years now. And sir Oliver, the one entertaining us, said that this plant really requires a large investment. 80% of the initial cost of the plant was covered by the grant they received from GEF, making this plant feasible and possible. Solar power plants are really costly. They require a large capital and yet they contribute only a small percentage of the total electricity produced in the Philippines. Even all over the world, to invest in renewable energy is discouraging, yet it is what we must invest our money on.
Could you imagine the world without money? Everybody works and does research for the sake of common good. What a wonderful world it would be!
CEPALCO Solar Power Plant Facility (in Brgy Macasandig)
in the pic is Engr. Oliver Labares with the solar panels
Courtesy of MindaNews
By the way, in the pic is Engr Oliver, he's jolly and a joker! He told us that the most easy way to produce electricity is via wind energy. He explained that we just need to hire windy/boastful (hanginon in Cebuano dialect, hangin = wind) and we would just let them talk and boast about anything to produce wind. << And that joke was quite corny.. and a little funny. :D
~ooOoo~
last night, by the way, we ate dinner at Thai Me Up restaurant (at Centrio). They serve foods with a Thailand-ish taste. i so, so love the spices! They are so lovely to the taste. we also had a glass of lemon grass tea - not so super nice.. but i felt like i am havin' a healthy livin' because of that tea. Hahahaha!
And again, we went to Thai Me Up (Capistrano Branch) for a lunch buffet . And they never failed us. :)
Thai Me Up tissue ;)
~ooOoo~
Everyone was saving up for the visit in STEAG Coal Power Plant. Ma'am Rein/Ren (our tour director) said that we were so blessed, because for a long time, the company did not accept plant visitors until this year or perhaps til this batch. She also said that we would be amazed. So, i was personally looking forward to this visit.
STEAG State Power Corp (Coal Power Plant, PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate, Misamis Oriental)
Courtesy of GearX from SkyscraperCity.com
The company was really so cool and rich! Each of us received our visitor IDs with barcodes per ID. There was also a brown K9 dog. it was so large yet so cuddly. :) and it barked at us! Hahahahaha! When we entered the conference room, i heard the sweet music of What a Wonderful World! it was a unique version. Was it reggae? Anyhow, i just felt like i was in an island looking at the sunset and having a good time. i actually thought they're gonna give us island refreshments to go along with the music. :) Then i realized that Somewhere Over the Rainbow was also playing! Hahahaha! COOL! We were also given a mini magazine/info book about frequently asked questions on their company and its operations.
Sir Jerome, the company spokesperson, introduced himself to us. The way the introduction and overview was made, i sensed that this really was a special plant visit. He explained that it had already been 3 years since they last received visitors from our school. He tried his best to make us feel welcome and to make this meeting an interactive one. He encouraged us to ask questions, though he said that we might be more interested in asking questions related to social issues and concerns, because, as he reminded us, we were supposed to be men and women for others. :)
Process Diagram as shown in the company mini info mag
The company basically produces electricity by burning coal. Burning coal produces heat which boils up preheated water to produce steam. Steam at a high pressure and temperature causes the turbines to swiftly turn and eventually generate electricity. The company needed to consider the plant operations' environmental effects and other hazards produced during operation.
i was pretty impressed at the way the electrical engineering 4th yr students asked questions. i couldn't actually ask sir Jerome anything. i felt silly about myself and i felt like he already said everything. [but now, as i am doing this, i just wanted to ask how they take care of their turbines. Because these turbines are subject to easy wearing and tearing as they are exposed to gas and liquid in the form of steam. In addition to that, i now wanted to ask what good questions we're supposed to ask him. Pft!]
He also shared to us the Mindanao Power Generation mix. About 53% of our electricity is supplied by the hydroelectric power plants, 20% by coal, 17% diesel, and 10% by geothermal power plants (Perhaps solar energy really contributes so little it wasn't included in the list). He said that the easiest way to generate electricity is through the use of diesel fuel or via burning coal. That is because they are already given to us, all we need to do is collect them below the ground and burn them. Renewable energy sources, however, requires deeper thinking and big costs with somehow very low return rates. In other words, renewable energy is expensive and effortful! He did not say this as something against the company he was in. He told this to inform us, to make us understand that people very rarely want to sponsor and invest money on renewable energy power plants. However, these coal power plants and other nonrenewable energy power plants should serve as transitory stages towards fully using renewable energies. Because we cannot deny the fact that oil and coal are rapidly depleting, yet electricity is ever in demand.
He shared to us, by the way, the legend of why humans kept using nonrenewable energy sources instead of renewable ones.
"The sun is the source of all energy.
People knew that.
However, because looking at the sun hurts people's eyes, they started looking down.
By looking down, they found oil, petroleum, coal and other more.
They did not realize soon enough that these resources from down under are hastily depleting.
They forgot that the sun is the source of all energy.
Even oil and coal from below took all their energy from pressure under and from the sun above."
This story reminds me again of Avatar: the Last Airbender when Aang and Zuko were searching for firebending masters. In their search for a master, they learned that fire is energy and life. Just like the sun. :)
Another interesting thing sir Jerome shared to us is that nothing here is really free. Even salvation is not free. It just seems free because Somebody paid it for us. Everything has a cost. We want to use renewable energy sources? If yes, are we willing to pay the price to prevent the world from self-destructing?
STEAG State Power Corp bay
as featured in the company mini info magazine
Sir Jerome shared to us his favorite part of the presentation. He showed us the Earth with the sun covered. He said that it was also shared to him by a priest. He pointed out the most lighted parts in the world - America, Europe, Japan, India and some parts of China. He shared how Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is so strict in implementing restrictions in plant operations to preserve the environment. And yet, if these big countries who are big electricity consumers and highly industrialized would not move a finger for climate change mitigation, all of Philippines' efforts would still be put to nothing. Yet, even the knowledge of their behavior (if that's the case) shall not stop Filipinos in seeking awareness and continuing to advocate for the salvation of the environment, not only for environment's sake, but also for all people affected and to be affected.
Earth lights: "With great power comes great responsibility" (Spiderman 1)
Courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory
~ooOoo~
i had fun. it was much more than i deserved. i don't even know how to put good use of this knowledge. i wish more students and wisdom-seekers would get a chance to experience what i have experienced. Education, after all, is a right!
Got to go back to Davao! :)
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