$400-M hydro program set

CLEANTECH Global Renewables Inc. is getting ready to spend some $400 million on various hydroelectric power projects to expand its renewable energy (RE) portfolio as the country’s overall demand for electricity increases.

“We are building a 50-megawatt (MW) to 100-MW pipeline of hydro projects,” company president and CEO Salvador Antonio Castro Jr. told reporters. “The rough approximate cost is anywhere between $3.5 million and $4 million dollars per megawatt. That makes the required investment about $400 million.”

The pipeline included a $30-million, 8.5-MW Jasaan run-of-river hydroelectric power project in Misamis Oriental, he said. The project is being undertaken under subsidiary Cleantech Lower Cabulog Mini-Hydro.

The project is being undertaken in partnership with Mindanao Energy Systems Inc. (Minergy) and Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co. (Cepalco), the fourth-largest privately owned electric distribution utility in the Philippines. Construction would likely start in the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of 2017, Castro said.

Cleantech was working with the engineering, procurement and construction contractors to complete the project within 24 to 30 months, Castro said. The contractors were working with Cleantech on the detailed engineering design and the firm timeline for the project would be set after the final detailed design, he added.

Developing run-of-river hydroelectric power projects could take two to three years depending on the site conditions such as the terrain, presence of access road, proximity to transmission systems and support of the local government unit.

“This is our first foray into run-of-river hydro and we are very excited about it since we want to move forward with a great partnership between Cleantech and the Cepalco and Minergy groups,” he said.

Funding would come from equity and a mix of borrowings from local and foreign banks. Foreign investors were welcome to partner with Cleantech as well, Castro said.