French energy firm to put up renewable projects in Mindanao

Representatives from the provinces of Surigao del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Zamboanga City sign a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) with Hydrogen de France S.A. for the establishment of renewable power plant projects in their respective localities on Friday (July 19, 2024) in Davao City. (PNA)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Two provinces and one city in Mindanao are expected to have a stable power supply after a French energy firm formally signified intention to put up renewable energy projects in the form of green hydrogen (Renewstable), or by producing electricity on demand from decarbonized hydrogen (HyPower).

On Friday, representatives of the provinces of Surigao del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Zamboanga City signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) here with Hydrogen de France (HDF) S.A. to establish renewable power plant projects.

Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Leo Tereso Magno and Marie Fontanel, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of the Philippines, witnessed the signing.

The MoC is for information-sharing, stakeholder coordination, and technical validation of the HDF grid assessment and feasibility studies, vital in the various stages of the planning and development of HDF’s renewable projects.

In a press briefing following the signing at the Acacia Hotel here, Mathieu Geze, president and director of HDF Energy Philippines Holdings Inc., said the project will generate a 10-megawatt stable power supply to the provinces and cities.

Geze said that after their study, they expect the renewable energy projects to be completed in two years.

“We have two key stakeholders – the local government, which will provide the land, and the electric cooperative. If there is no land and no electric cooperative agreement, no project will be made,” Geze said, adding that their total pipeline projects for the Philippines is estimated at around USD1.5 billion.

The HDF aims to finance the construction of at least 10 Renewstable power plants in Mindanao, focusing on off-grid areas and areas within the grid experiencing insufficient power.

With the prevailing problems of high power rates, Surigao del Norte provincial administrator Rise Faith Recabo said the project could solve their longstanding power problems.

“We have been experiencing it for the longest time –high power rates for our electric bills, and then in the Siargao Islands, the electricity there is a problem and has been going for around five years,” Recabo said in an interview.

Dr. Trisha Goloran, the representative of Agusan del Sur, said they have a similar problem with Surigao del Norte, and the project would surely “benefit the people.”

For Zamboanga City, Raul Regondola, chairman and administrator of the Zamboanga Ecozone, acknowledged HDF for choosing their city as one of the project’s recipients.

“It will bring lower electricity rates and will generate employment. We are looking forward to establishing the HYPower, and this technology is new to us,” Regondola said.

He said Zamboanga City has long been suffering from an average of four to five times of power outages daily.

On the other hand, Magno said the current development in Mindanao is one of the significant accomplishments of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration.

“The President has instructed all government agencies, including MinDA, to make sure that if investors are coming in for public-private partnership, we will make sure that they will enjoy the ease of doing business in our place,” he said.