By Alena Mae S. Flores Posted on September 17, 1212 12:02am
SN Aboitiz Power-Magat Inc., owner of the 360-megawatt Magat hydroelectric power plant in Isabela, has applied with the Energy Department for a renewable energy service contract to cover the expansion of the plant.
“We’re focused on the Magat expansion. We’ve done and we’ve completed the engineering study,” Emmanuel Rubio, SN Aboitiz president and chief executive, told reporters.
SN Aboitiz plans to expand the capacity of the Magat hydroelectric plant by another 115 MW.
Rubio said the company was working closely with the National Irrigation Administration on the project, which it hopes to complete by 2015 to 2016. SN Aboitiz acquired the Magat power plant from the government in 2006 for $530 million.
NIA is the government agency in charge of the operations of the Magat Dam, a multi-purpose facility that prioritizes irrigation for farmlands in Isabela and adjacent provinces over power output.
The Magat power plant in Ramon, Isabela and Alfonso Lista, Ifugao, uses the same water used in irrigation for power generation and is dependent on NIA’s requirements.
“We’re applying [for a] 115-MW pump storage…This will increase the capacity of Magat by 115 MW. Magat now is 360 MW,” Rubio said.
SN Aboitiz said in 2010 it would proceed with the feasibility study for the plant’s expansion to boost the power output to 540 MW.
SN Aboitiz formalized the conduct of the feasibility study on Dec. 15, 2010 after signing an agreement with the NIA.
The agreement facilitates the gathering of information to determine the feasibility of expanding the capacity of the Magat plant by an additional 90 to 180 MW.
The study included the feasibility of installing a pumped-storage system, in which water stored in the upper reservoir is released into a lower dam through a gate that controls water flow, when power from the plant is needed.
The turbines spin backward and pump the water back up into the upper reservoir when demand for electricity is low, enabling more efficient water use.
Rubio said SN Aboitiz was also on schedule for the completion of the 100-MW Binga hydro plant rehabilitation.
“We expect Binga to be fully rehabilitated by July of 2013. The capacity of Binga after rehab is… 120 MW,” he said. source
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