NDC, PNOC Renewables sign to build P90M mini-hydropower plant in Nueva Ecija

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MANILA, Philippines — The National Development Co., an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, has signed an agreement with the state-run PNOC Renewables Corp. to put up a P90-million mini-hydropower plant in Rizal, Nueva Ecija.

NDC is expected to invest P45 million for the energy venture, representing a 50-percent share in the total cost of putting up the 1-megawatt Rizal hydropower project, according to the agency’s general manager Ma. Lourdes F. Rebueno.

The construction of the renewable energy facility will start by next month.

According to the DTI, the investment being made by the NDC is expected to serve as a catalyst for private investors to undertake the supply chain gap in the hydropower sector. Based on the government’s commitments, it will be putting up facilities that could generate some 50.5 MW from hydropower, equivalent to about 25 percent of the total medium-term commitment of 205 MW, which should be generated from renewable energy resources.

The NDC and PNOC RC signed a memorandum of agreement for the partnership, under which the two agencies are expected to develop, commercialize, operate and maintain the 1 MW mini-hydro power plant within the National Irrigation Administration’s existing irrigation infrastructure in Rizal Nueva Ecija.

The Rizal hydropower project, which is located at the Pampanga River Irrigation System Main Canal, is the initial undertaking of the partnership. PNOC RC has reportedly identified hydropower projects that could generate a total of 20 MW, which may be undertaken with NDC under a similar partnership.

PNOC RC has been reportedly looking to put up renewable energy power plants that could generate a total of 300 MW within a five-year period, as the Department of Energy has been actively pushing to increase the contribution of renewable energy to the country’s power generation mix. This contribution is expected to help stabilize electricity prices in the country over the next 20 years.

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