Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Nueva Ecija to get new hydro power plant


Business World Online
Posted on August 21, 2013 09:56:46 PM

CONSTELLATION Energy Corp. (CEC) plans to start construction of its planned three-megawatt (MW) hydro power project in the province of Nueva Ecija next year, an official said in a recent interview at Manila Polo Club in Makati City.

  “That’s moving along. The status is that construction should start within the first half of next year,” CEC Chairman Jose P. Leviste, Jr. said in an interview on Friday last week when asked for updates on the project.

Mr. Leviste said the company will develop a mini hydro power plant, with capacity of just 3 MW, in the municipality of Gabaldon.

He added the project -- which is expected to be completed by October 2015 -- will run using water of Dupinga River.

The official said CEC has “already secured the necessary permits for the project” including local government endorsement, environmental compliance certificate, and a permit from the National Water Resources Board for use of the river.

The Energy department last June confirmed the declaration of commerciality of the project, in effect allowing it to start construction and apply the project under the feed-in tariff (FIT) program.

Under the FIT, renewable energy developers will dispatch the capacity of their plants to the grid at a fixed rate for a period of 20 years.

The Energy Regulatory Commission approved, in July last year, FIT rates for run-of-river hydro (P5.90 per kilowatt-hour); biomass (P6.63/kWh); wind (P8.53/kWh); and solar (P9.68/kWh).

The rates are based on assigned installation targets per technology, which totaled 750 MW. Run-of-river hydro and biomass projects are allocated 250 MW each; wind power, 200 MW; and solar power, 50 MW.

Besides the hydro power project, CEC also plans to develop a 20-MW geothermal power plant in the municipality of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

“We’re still doing the technical studies because we want to know when and where to drill. It’s still at that stage,” Mr. Leviste said.

Asked on the timetable, he replied: “That depends on the findings of the studies.”

“I can’t tell you because we don’t have a target yet.”

CEC is focused on developing renewable energy projects.

Besides the project in Nueva Ecija and Oriental Mindoro, the company is also developing other power projects in Biliran province and Negros Island. -- Claire-Ann Marie C. Feliciano   source

No comments:

Post a Comment