By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net
THE COUNTRY’S first electricity-powered jeepneys (e-Jeepneys) rolled down Makati City on July 4 in an official test drive.
The 10 to 12-seater e-Jeepneys were developed by Greenpeace and the Makati City government and financed by the Green Renewable Independent Power Producer Inc (GRIPP), in an effort to encourage the use of alternative fuels as well as reduce the effects of greenhouse gases on climate change.
US-based firm Solar Electric Company designed the engine, which were put in ordinary jeeps that usually ply the country’s streets.
The e-Jeepneys are powered by five-horsepower electric motor engines with 12 batteries that, at full capacity, can give the vehicles 120 to 140 kilometers running distance at around 40 kilometers per hour. The batteries are charged for eight hours on ordinary 220-volt power sockets.
Each vehicle costs at least P400,000 to build, which is just P100,000 more expensive than most shop-built diesel jeepneys.
Two e-Jeepneys were initially deployed in Makati but according to Greenpeace Philippines Campaigner Jasper Inventor, four more will be arriving soon. One of the jeeps will go to Solar Electric Company for testing and the three others will be sent to Negros Occidental where they will be deployed for field testing.
Inventor said the five jeeps going to Makati and Negros Occidental would be tested for technical and commercial capabilities for six months and, if proven successful, 50 more units would be deployed.
Under the project, Makati City would have to build a charging facility for the jeepneys. These facilities would in turn have to generate electric power by processing biodegradable waste from the city’s food establishments and wet markets.
In a statement, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Campaigns Director Von Hernandez said the e-Jeepneys would demonstrate mitigation procedures to minimize air pollution and climate change by reducing the use of fossil fuels used by today’s vehicles.
“Greenpeace supports solutions-oriented technological and scientific innovations that can help stop climate change. The E-Jeepneys are a clear example of our ‘Simple Lang’ project that calls upon Filipino citizens and institutions to adopt simple yet effective measures to help avert catastrophic climate change. We applaud Makati for showing leadership by taking on the test phase of this project. We challenge other cities to implement similar projects and hope that Makati City can also take this opportunity to lead in the implementation of other solutions particularly in the areas of energy use and efficiency,” Hernandez said.
October 15th, 2007 at 2:07 am
Isa pang dapat tingnan natin dyan, ang SAFETY. Hindi ba yan delikado kapag bumiyahe sa Metro Manila na alam natin na bahain? Baka naman kapag malubog sa baha yang e-jeepney ma-short circuit at ma-electric shock ang pasahero at driver.
Congrats! Magandang bagay iyan para sa pasimula ng bagong pag-asa ng Pilipinas.
September 15th, 2007 at 10:00 am
Hi mapua,
Great new on plans to create Philippine fabricated and manufactured electric jeeps! More power to Filipino self-reliance and ingenuity … Sana tuloy tuloy na ito at suportahan ng lahat na sektor. Wag nating papayagan na ito’y maglaho dahil sa kakulangan ng kapital, balakid ng mga gahaman sa gubyerno, o mga malalaking kumpanya na masasaktan ang kanilang personal na interes.
Mabuhay ang imbentor Pilipino, at mabuhay tayong lahat!
September 14th, 2007 at 8:09 am
May sagot ka na kabayan.
US Based Engineer said after their EV parade in dumaguete.
-We want Dumaguete and the twin Negros provinces to be the bastion or haven of technical innovations in the manufacture of electric vehicles- Rene Tuballa
“kabayan
1. Dapat dito na itong electric jeep i-fabricate sa Pilipinas, hindi dapat galing sa ibang nasyon tulad ng Tsina o saan pa man.”
September 14th, 2007 at 7:30 am
True It helps pollution. But it helps CHINA than it helps Philippines.
The Dumaguete EV is a real Pinoy Electric Vehicle. It helps generates business and Jobs.
July 10th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
This is great news! I agree with “Kabayan”. We should also look at this holistically. Was the manufacturing process of this vehicle environmentally friendly?… where there toxic chemical waste in the process?… did the raw materials come from recycled or highly renewable source?… How much (renewable) energy was used to manufacture and ship this vehicle?…was life cycle considered in the design?… meaning that after the end of the jeepney’s “life”, can all its parts be recycled to build a new one?
But overall, I believe we’re moving in the right direction towards being “good” stewards to our environment and not just being “less bad”.