ABOITIZPOWER, through its subsidiary Hedcor, was one of the major power industry players present at the World Wild Fund (WWF-Philippines) Renewable Energy Forum at Waterfront Insular Hotel in Davao City on July 28.
Hedcor, being the largest developer of run-of-river (ROR) hydropower plants in the country, talked about the opportunities and challenges in renewable energy generation.
Represented by vice president for Business Development Gregorio Jabonillo, Hedcor identified an additional 68-megawatt (MW) of power for Mindanao alone through run-of-river in the coming years.
One project, the Tudaya Hydropower Project, which will be built in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, is expected to break ground in the last quarter of the year.
Benefits of ROR hydropower plants were also highlighted by Jabonillo. One of which is its being indigenous and environment-friendly.
"Run-of-river hydropower plants does not produce harmful greenhouse gases nor pollute the environment in any way since it is energy produced by the kinetic energy of water," Jabonillo explained.
Hedcor has already produced 3.56 billion kilowatt-hours of energy. If the same energy were generated by fossil fuels, this translates to 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere or an import of 8.5 million barrels of oil.
Apart from the environmental benefits, an economic return to the host communities and local governments was underscored. For Hedcor's Tudaya hydropower project alone, an annual average of P28 million is estimated to be granted to the stakeholders through taxes, ER 1-94 of Epira and corporate social responsibility projects.
AboitizPower is the holding company for the Aboitiz Group's investments in power generation, distribution, retail and power services. It is a major producer of Cleanergy, its brand for clean and renewable energy in the Philippines with several hydroelectric and geothermal assets in its generation portfolio, and also has non-renewable power plants located across the country.
Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on July 29, 2011.
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