By Danessa
Rivera (The Philippine Star) | Updated November 25, 2016 - 12:00am
MANILA,
Philippines - The proposed two-year moratorium on land conversion on farm areas
would not be a problem for solar power plants since these power facilities can
still accommodate agriculture products planted beneath the panels, a solar
advocate said yesterday.
While solar
plants need expanse land, solar farms have idle land beneath the solar panel
installations which could still be utilized for farming, Solar Philippines
founder and president Leandro Leviste said during the Global Investment Forum
yesterday.
“Many
industries are dependent on ease of converting agriculture land…however I
believe solar is adaptable to either scenario,” he said.
“Systems in
places like Japan, where land is likewise scarce, they’re planting solar panels
on top of crops like kamote,” Leviste said.
In
September, President Duterte approved the proposal of the Department of
Agrarian Reform (DAR) to impose a two-year moratorium on land conversion which
disallows the use of agricultural lands for non-agricultural uses.
With such
order, Solar Philippines is willing to re-use the land used in its solar power
plants for agriculture uses, Leviste said.
“Eventually,
if solar is going to take out tens of thousands of land in Luzon, it’s
something we can integrate into our projects as well,” he said.
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