MANILA – Renewable energy firm Alternergy is partnering with Exeter Portofino Holdings for the former’s run-of-river hydropower project in Lamut and Asipulo in Ifugao.
In a statement Thursday, Alternergy said it signed an investment framework agreement with Exeter as co-partner for the development of the Lamut-Asipulo Hydro Power Project.
The company said its tie-up with Exeter is expected to expedite the construction of the hydropower plant.
“With the entry of Exeter as co-partner, the Lamut-Asipulo Hydro Power Project is in (an) advanced stage of development and is expected to issue notice to proceed to early construction works in the coming months,” Alternergy said.
Exeter said the partnership with Alternergy is aligned with its commitment to ensuring that the project is sustainable and would preserve the heritage of the local communities.
Exeter is a holding company of civil society leader Sara Soliven-de Guzman whose family has been actively promoting the preservation of Ifugao heritage sites and has rolled out educational programs in Ifugao through its Operation Brotherhood Community Foundation.
“The Lamut-Asipulo Hydro Power Project is also an opportunity for us to continue and expand the work our family has started in Ifugao,” Exeter chairperson Soliven-de Guzman said. “Our family has deep ties in Ifugao and we look forward to strengthening this together with Alternergy in harnessing renewable energy and helping uplift the lives of the Ifugaos.”
The run-of-river hydropower project will use the flow of water from the Cawayan River that will be converted into clean and renewable power.
As the project is located within the ancestral domains of the Kalanguya, Ayangan, and Tuwali Indigenous Cultural Communities, a memorandum of agreement has been signed with indigenous peoples.
The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) en banc has also issued the certification precondition.
“We are happy to bring in Exeter as we create transformative partnerships in promoting clean energy and impacting the lives of the people. While the development of hydropower projects could be long gestation, the benefits of clean and renewable power are long-term and significant,” Lamut-Asipulo Mini Hydro Corp. (LAMHC) president Eduardo Martinez said.
The hydropower project in Ifugao is part of Alternergy’s goal of adding 1,370 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity in the next five years.
Alternergy is also building two hydropower projects – the 4.6-MW Dupinga Project in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija and the 17.4-MW Kiangan Project in Kiangan, Ifugao. (PNA)
