Written by Madelaine B. Miraflor Reporter Published on 28 April 2013
Sunwest Water and Electric Co. II (Suweco2), a subsidiary of renewable energy developer Suweco, has concluded a P1-billion project financing agreement with Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. (BDO) for its 8-megawatt (MW) hydropower project in Panay.
In a statement, Suweco said that its subsidiary and BDO recently sealed a P1-billion project financing to facilitate the development of the 8-megawatt Villasiga Hydropower project located in Barangay Igsoro, Bugasong, Antique.
The 8-MW Villasiga Hydropower project, a run-of-river renewable energy type of power development that will optimize the main Paliuan River to generate power, is set to be the first hydropower plant in Panay Island.
The Villasiga project has a total investment of about P1.6 billion with a potential annual energy generation of 31.50 million kilowatt hours.
The project, according to Suweco, is 85 percent completed and is expected to generate power this additional 31.4-gigawatt hours starting in October 2013.
Suweco said that the establishment of the Villasiga hydropower project is a response to the government’s call to increase the estimated current energy supply of the country from renewable energy, from the current 20 percent to 50 percent in the next 15 years.
Endorsed by the Regional Development Council (RDC) VI as early as in 2006, the Villasiga-1 Hydropower Plant is one of the priority renewable energy projects of the region.
RDC Vice Chairman Ro-Ann Bacal said that the project is expected to stabilize power voltage in Antique, as well as reduce the region’s dependency on imported fuel resulting to lower fuel costs.
Suweco2 is a subsidiary of Suweco, which plans to become a major supplier of clean renewable energy, particularly in the rural areas that are not currently being well-serviced by the national grid.
Suweco’s first foray into renewable energy development is through the successful implementation and operation of its two mini-hydropower projects in Catanduanes—the Solong (2.1-MW) and Hitoma 1 (1.5-MW) mini-hydropower plants, which were funded by loans from the Philippine National Bank.
Suweco currently has a project portfolio of 59 projects at different stages of development. The 59 projects are expected to generate a total capacity of around 280 MW in the next 10 years. source
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