Published
July 13, 2018, 1:24 PM By Freddie Lazaro
BANGUED, Abra — The
indigenous peoples (IPs) have approved the proposed first-of-its-kind
500-megawatt Pump Storage Hydroelectric Project in Kibungan, Benguet province.
A consensus was arrived
at by the indigenous peoples of the Kibungan Ancestral Domain, giving their
consent to the project via the government-required Free and Prior Informed
Consent (FPIC) process conducted by the National Commission on Indigenous
Peoples (NCIP).
The renewable energy
project according to the proponent — Cordillera Hydroelectric Power Corporation
(Coheco) Badeo Corporation –will usher in countless benefits to the environment
and development in the area because aside from very minute minimal impact to
the environment, the project will generate 500 megawatts of power.
The 345-megawatt San
Roque Multipurpose Dam built in 1998 in San Manuel, Pangasinan which has
headwaters along the Agno River in Benguet has submerged a vast area both in
Benguet and Pangasinan, while the Ambuclao dam in Bokod, also in Benguet built
in the ’70s submerged indigenous villages.
The P35-billion
Kibungan Pump Storage Hydroelectric Project is projected to make a major
contribution to the country’s source of energy, livelihood and tourism in
Benguet even in the remotest communities in Kibungan.
The project will
utilize an impounding facility on a 15.2-hectare land located on a higher
elevation, and capable of producing more power that will emanate from the
pressure created by the higher source of water.
The pumped
hydroelectric storage is the most widely adopted utility-scale electricity
storage technology, Coheco Badeo Corporation said. By storing electricity, PHES
facilities can protect the power system from outages. It also provides the most
mature and commercially available solution to bulk electricity and releasing it
during peak hours with low operation and maintenance cost, and high
reliability.
The “strength” of 3,200
cubic meters of water all coming from the Amburayan river to sustain the
project, according to the builders, will not deprive the community of their
supply.
With the huge step
obtained when the indigenous peoples in Kibungan, Benguet consented of the
one-of-its-kind project, the proponent Coheco Badeo Corporation said, a new
dawn is awaiting Benguet perhaps as the newest “hub” for renewable energy in
the Cordillera, aside from its tourism potential as an eco-tourism destination
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