Lopez group eyes 600-MW hydro plants

First Gen Corp. plans to build two hydropower plants in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija provinces, according to documents from the Department of Energy. PHOTO FROM FIRSTGEN.COM.PH

The Lopez-led First Gen Corp. is planning to build in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija two hydropower plants that can generate a combined 600 megawatts.

Documents from the Department of Energy (DoE) showed that the company, through its wholly owned subsidiary First Gen Prime Energy Corp., is looking at building a 300-MW hydropower plant that will tap the Pantabangan River in Nueva Ecija.

Another wholly owned subsidiary, First Gen Premier Energy Corp., will likewise look into the feasibility of putting up a 300-MW facility that will tap the Angat River in Norzagaray, Bulacan.

“These hydropower projects represent First Gen’s approved renewable energy contracts with the Department of Energy,” First Gen president Francis Giles Puno told the Inquirer.

“Both projects are still in their predevelopment stage and are undergoing site investigation to determine feasibility,” Puno explained.

The renewable energy service contracts for these two projects were approved by the DoE on March 29. Its service contract for the proposed 30-MW Balintingon hydropower project in Nueva Ecija was also signed on the same day.

The three contracts are among the 35 hydro service contracts signed and awarded by the DoE so far this year. The proposed projects are estimated to generate a total of 895.5 MW for the three main grids.

First Gen has been aggressively looking at new projects to further expand its clean energy portfolio. The company’s gross generation capacity has reached 2,763 MW as of the end of last year, 2,144 MW of which could be considered as its net attributable capacity.

The company is also looking at run-of-river hydropower projects in Mindanao that can generate 91 MW in a bid to help shore up power supply on the island.

Priority has been placed on two projects worth a combined P10 billion—the 30-MW Puyo project in Agusan del Norte and the 23-MW Bubunawan facility in Bukidnon. The other power projects in the pipeline are expected to be put up in Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte, and in Tumalaong and Tagoloan Rivers, both in Bukidnon.