Alternergy, Exeter to build run-of-river project

Exeter-Portofino Holdings Inc., the holding company of civil society leader Sara Soliven de Guzman, is partnering with renewable energy company Alternergy Holdings Corp. to build a run-of-river hydropower project in Ifugao.

Alternergy said it signed an investment framework agreement with Exeter for the development of the Lamut-Asipulo hydropower project with a potential capacity of 6.8 megawatts.

The project, which will rise between the towns of Lamut and Asipulo, is in an advanced stage of development. Alternergy is expected to issue a notice to proceed in the coming months.

It intends to harness the flow of water from the Cawayan River which will then be converted into clean energy.

“The Lamut-Asipulo hydropower project is also an opportunity for us to continue and expand the work our family has started in Ifugao,” said de Guzman, Exeter chair.

“While the development of hydropower projects could be long-gestation [undertakings], the benefits of clean and renewable power are long-term and significant,” said Eduardo Martinez Miranda, Lamut-Asipulo Mini Hydro Corp. president.

The run-of-river hydro project is situated within the ancestral domain of the Kalanguya, Ayangan and Tuwali indigenous cultural communities.

A memorandum of agreement with the indigenous peoples has been signed and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples has certified that the proponent secured the approval of local groups.