Pure Energy Holdings Corp and its partners will begin the construction of the two mini-hydropower plants that will provide three megawatts (MW) of clean power supply in Real, Quezon.
Subsidiaries Blue Energy Holdings and Management Corp. and Repower Energy Development Corp (REDC) formed a consortium with the Giga United Power and Willy N. Ocier for the P660-million mini-hydropower plants.
“After years of pre-development work, we look forward to starting the construction phase of our two mini-hydro projects in Quezon province. These power plants will harness our abundant river waters to generate electricity in a clean and sustainable manner,” Blue Energy president and CEO Christopher Tiu said.
The Lower Labayat and Upper Tignon mini-hydropower plants – that will have 1.4 MW and 1.5 MW installed capacity, respectively – will begin its full construction in June.
“Furthermore, we expect to generate more than 400 jobs through these projects,” Tiu added.
The two power plants are expected to power around 7,000 households and generate almost 17 gigawatt-hours annually. The two are expected to deliver around 65 percent plant capacity year-round upon completion.
The consortium is set to apply for the feed-in-tariff (FIT) rate of P5.90 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) for run-of-river mini-hydropower once the projects are completed in 2019.
The Lower Labayat project will connect to REDC’s Labayat 1 hydropower plant and will share the same transmission lines and access roads.
Meanwhile, Upper Tignoan project will connect to the REDC switchyard.
After the two mini-hydropower plants, REDC will ground break its three MW Lalawinan run-of-river hydropower plant with the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) this month.
The Lalawinan project is also located in Quezon City.
The future of hydropower in the Philippines
If constructed and operated in a manner that minimizes environmental and cultural impacts, hydropower projects can provide low-cost, clean sources of electricity to urban and rural areas throughout the country.
Harvesting the power from our rivers can be part of a smart and diverse set of solutions for reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, and the impact they have on our climate and public health.
The ability to ramp up and down hydropower generation is a valuable source of flexible generation on the electricity grid, which can directly displace coal, and help integrate larger amounts of variable renewable energy resources, like wind and solar power.
Congratulations to Blue Energy Holdings & Management Corp. and Repower Energy Development Corp. (REDC) for undertaking these projects.