Rain Seeders to Ease Power Shortage
by: Erika Criste
Recent report shows that no power outages have been disrupting the island of Mindanao for the past few months. However dating it back few months after the scarce supply of power, brownout have become a rampant burden experienced not only in Mindanao but throughout the Philippines. Rotating brownout schedules were given in each respective area that has been greatly affected by power scarcity including Cagayan de Oro City (CDO) and other major cities of Mindanao. Enforced rotational brownout aimed ten hour power outages however the on and off time of the power varies.
Due to the unending increase of heat and lack of rain, hydropower plants are drying up most especially those that supply the majority power in Mindanao which are Agus located in Lanao, Del Norte and Pulangi 4 in Maramag, Bukidnon. The actual power requirement by the Cagayan Electric Power and Light Company (CEPALCO) is about 140 MW in a day but due to power crisis the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and CEPALCO could only supply around 30 MW. Pulangi 4, second major source of electricity in Mindanao is forced to shut down three turbines as commanded by the National Power Corporation (NPC). The Pulangi 4 normally gives off 265 MW but it was found to be generating only 60 MW thus it deficits 300 MW.
Power crisis became a great concern among citizens, since then government tried to issue this matter starting it off with the very core of the problem. Dry lands, water level supply in dams decreasing and power interruption are all caused by the lack of rain. The government wants to ensure that even during the hottest month there will still be available resources for the people most especially electricity which is run mostly by hydro power plants.
The government partnered with some agencies such as 900th Air Weather Group of the Philippine Air Force (PAF), Department of Agriculture (DA) and National Power Corporation (Napocor) to resolve such problems. Intentional weather modification has been the key to put an end to the power crisis in the Philippines targeting most places in Mindanao. Rain is the necessary factor in addressing these problems and to induce rain in a scientific essence means to manipulate and create an artificial one.
Rainfall intentionally modified
It has been known that cloud seeding operations are to increase the downpour that will help in the restoration of water level in the dam for the purpose of making the hydroelectric plant work. A critical level for a hydropower plant is 699.15 meters but in the case of Lake Lanao, it already reached 699.4 meters which is close call to a bigger problem. In order to address this, cloud seeding has been able to slowly resuscitate the current power crisis. This artificial rain was made possible through a simple ingredient found in our kitchen- salt.
An actual cloud contains water vapor and droplets combined with other tiny particles, dust, salt and smoke in the air caused by evaporation and condensation, where water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water that is responsible for the formation of clouds. As water droplets combine, coalescence, and grow in size the clouds slowly releases rain in the form of precipitation. In a different approach of rain, cloud seeding can be done through the use of Silver Iodide, Dry Ice and Salt.
In the case of the cloud seeding done in Mindanao particularly in Lake Lanao, a Salt weighing 25 kilos per bag was used and hovered around in a Beechcraft Baron aircraft where each trip carries 18 sacks of vacuum salt. The aircraft chooses a cumulus cloud, the base of the cloud is 2,000 feet and the top varies from 10,000 feet – 15,000 feet. With a towering Cumulus cloud (TCU), a cloud with generally sharp outlines and a thick and rounded top and flat bottom, the aircraft passes through it and see if the cloud is moist enough to be added with Sodium Chloride (NaCl) or iodized salt.
Rain seeders then simply toss and sprinkle the salt to the clouds until an ample amount of salt was used. The process then of cloud seeding begins when salts combine with the droplets in the cloud until such time it increases in size and content and is ready to fall as a rain. To calculate the rain to fall in the target area, the wind direction, speed on the ground and winds aloft along the type of cloud, air temperature, relative humidity and barometric pressure below and cooling from above are considered in the operation.
According to Engr. Garret A. Olivares, Design and Survey Head/SCADA-OIC of First Bukidnon Electric Cooperative, Inc (FIBECO) "Cloud seeding became a tool in providing the needed amount of water for dams. In the case of Pulangi 4, the intentional weather modification lessened the rotational brownout and increased the water supply in the dam. Pulangi 4 has been experiencing difficulties in providing the maximum power supply because of the soil or mud that has moistened wherein it absorbs more water. Pulangi 4 demands a greater water supply and continuous rain, thus it was addressed greatly by this cloud seeding.”
This artificial weather modification has made positive remarks after its operation. Last year, a cloud seeding was done spearheaded by the Department of Agriculture last April 12, 2014. The rain seeders hovered around the clouds of Lake Lanao and are hoping to include the Pulangi in Bukidnon to bring about rainfall to ease the power crisis in Mindanao. Currently, there are no reports of any daily rotational brownout and that is due to the rain manipulation. Power supplies have returned to its normal state and are hoping to continue until another seeding is needed. It has been an assurance that despite the physical and environmental concern in the Philippines the power demand for electricity has been found resolved due to cloud seeding.
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References:
http://napocor.gov.ph/
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/power-supply-back-to-normal-palace
http://www.iligan.gov.ph/power-outages-worsen-mindanao/
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=52421969
