Microhydro plant from irrigation to supply electricity to a municipality in Isabela

Business World Online
09 Mar 2014 Written by Alladin S. Diega 

A microhydro project at the Lateral B Canal of Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (MARIIS) in Barangay San Marcos in San Mateo, Isabela, is set to supply electricity for some 500 households in Barangay San Marcos and nearby Barangay Villafuerte, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA). 
A first in the country and to be completed in November of this year, the project will serve as a pilot for soon-to-be-undertaken DA-National Irrigation Administration (NIA) minihydro water projects, the DA said over the weekend. Funded through a grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), the project is being jointly undertaken by DA-attached agency NIA and the Department of Energy (DOE). 
According to Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala, the project “is an effort of the government to augment the high cost of electricity and insufficient power supply, under the convergence program, which usually consists of two and more government agencies working for a particular program of the government.” 
In an energy forum hosted by Shell company last month, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla said that alternative power-generation sources are part of the energy road map of the government, including renewable energy. 
The hydroelectric power using irrigation water to be hosted by a small farming community in Isabela, Cagayan Valley, is expected to generate 45 kilowatts of power, which is equivalent to 236,000 kilowatt hours (KWh) annually. 
Petilla was quoted as saying that the plant will be a run-off river power generation using two Japanese-made turbines to be installed in the irrigation canal, “demonstrating the viability of sourcing hydropower from low-head irrigation canals commonly found throughout the country.” 
“We will be able to see how water used in irrigation will be utilized for energy,” Alcala said in vernacular during the same forum, and added that as hydro remains one of the cheapest source of energy, the project would be a great help to boost the already limited supply of electricity. 
Under the project’s participatory concept, farmer-members of MARIIS cooperative will ultimately manage the facility, and the members can use their earnings from power generation to purchase new farm equipment and other production inputs so they become more productive and earn more, Alcala said on March 8. 
NIA official Claro Maranan said late Friday that besides MARIIS, there are 147 other sites nationwide the agency initially identified as possible location for minihydro dams. 
All together, these can generate an estimated 28 megawatts of electricity, Maranan said at the launching ceremony held last week. 
“These projects will be undertaken through joint venture agreements with both local and foreign investors, possibly Koreans, Germans and the Chinese, with whom NIA has been talking to,” Maranan said, adding that within MARIIS itself, the NIA is looking at developing 17 more potential sites. 
Microhydro power plants are those generating less than 100 kilowatts of electricity, according to documents from the energy department. 
The DOE documents said that by way of comparison, a minihydro plant generates about a megawatt, or 10 times as much energy as the biggest microhydro power plant. 
In 2012 DA-NIA announced its intention to establish minihydro power plants at major irrigation facilities all over the country, in a bid maximize the use of water resources before reaching the farmlands. Facilities such as that will also give highland farmers the opportunity to avail themselves not only affordable electricity but also reliable irrigation and potable water supply. source 

Alladin S. Diega