Business MirrorPublished on Thursday, 14 March 2013 18:24
HEDCOR Inc., a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp., continues to scout for more mini hydro-power projects nationwide to beef up its portfolio, top official said on Thursday.
The company has more than 20 projects that have already received the go-signal from the Department of Energy while around 39 more are pending approval.
“We’re looking at other projects but you know right now they’re just studies. Although we have started our communication with the communities and they seem to be quite excited about it,” said Hedcor President Rene Ronquillo at the sidelines of The Philippine Hydro Summit 2013 organized by Philippine Association of Small Scale Hydropower Inc.
“There are projects in Bukidnon in Negros and the other parts of the Cordilleras. We believe there’s strong community support because the nice thing about hydro, small hydro, is that it provides inclusive growth, inclusive development in the communities,” he added.
The combined capacity of Hedcor’s mini-hydro power projects in the drawing board is nearly 400 megawatts (MW) over the long term, he added.
Hedcor is currently putting up the 14-MW Tudaya 1 and 2 projects in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur.
Ronquillo also said Hedcor is waiting for the issuance of a special land use permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the 13-MW Sabangan hydro project in the Mountain Province.
“We hope to start [construction of the Sabangan project] by April this year. This will cost around P2 billion,” he said.
“Our target is to have two plants under construction every year. If we can just get the permits on time that’s what we should be doing.” source
Lenie Lectura
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