First Gen Corp. has been awarded a hydroelectric power service contract by the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a 120 MW pumped-storage hydroelectric facility in Aya, Pantabangan in Nueva Ecija.
According to a BusinessWorld report, the service contract grants the firm five years to conduct pre-development stage activities, from a preliminary assessment and feasibility study up to financial closing and declaration of commerciality.
Upon completion, the project will allow the storage of water, pumped into a reservoir for use at a later time. The facility will store and generate electricity by moving a volume of water between the upper and lower reservoirs situated at different elevations.
“While renewable energy is clean and sustainable, it isn’t always available when it is needed. But with a pump storage facility like the one we want to build in Pantabangan, we will be able to store some of the energy generated by the dam and deploy it when it is needed,” First Gen Vice-President for Corporate Communications Ramon A. Carandang was quoted as saying in the report.
Moreover, the pumped-storage facility can be flexibly operated to provide ancillary services to the electricity grid for grid security and stability.
Through the First Gen Hydro Power Corp. unit, the firm signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Irrigation Administration on the development of the same Aya hydro project.
At present, First Gen owns and operates the existing 132 MW Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric power plant project in Pantabangan. The firm is also pursuing other hydroelectric projects in Bukidnon and Agusan del Norte.
