Razon-led company building $1.1-b pumped-storage plant
By Alena Mae S. Flores February 27, 2022, 6:55 pm
from manilastandard.net
Ahunan Power Inc., the joint venture of tycoon Enrique Razon’s Prime Metro Power Holdings Corp. and JBD Water Power Inc., is developing a 1,400-megawatt pumped-storage hydropower plant in Laguna province at a cost of $1.1 billion.
“This project will contribute an addition of 1,400 MW, which will help realize the goal of CES (Clean Energy Scenario) for the hydropower energy sector,” Ahunan Power said in documents submitted to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for public scoping.
The company is developing the project on a 299.40-hectare site in Pakil, Laguna.
It plans to start the permitting and feasibility studies under the development stage in the third quarter and begin construction by the first quarter of 2023, with commercial operations expected in the first quarter of 2027.
Ahunan Power was incorporated on Sept. 17, 2020 to engage in the development, construction, operation, maintenance, repair and management of hydropower plants, other power-generating plants, related facilities and other allied businesses, including investing, bidding and negotiating for such projects (whether as shareholder, partner or otherwise) and to trade electricity in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
The project intends to generate gross capacity of 1,400 MW to provide primary and tertiary reserve ancillary services and conventional pumped-storage operation.
The two separate project stages involves stage one at 700 MW for primary and tertiary reserve ancillary services in the Luzon grid and stage 2 at 500 MW for mid-merit services.
The company said the need for power would continue to increase in the coming years. Peak demand is projected to increase to 54,700 megawatts by 2040 from 15,200 MW in 2020 at 6.6 percent annual increment.
Under CES, the government is aiming to have 35-percent renewable energy share in the power generation mix by 2030, then 50 percent by 2040.
The target installed capacity under CES in 2040 is 118,000 MW, with 81,500 MW from the RE sector. About 20,100 MW of the total will come from hydro.
“RE projects including hydropower energy play an essential part in the Philippine government’s strategy in addressing the challenges of climate change, energy security and access to clean energy,” Ahunan Power said.
The company said the project would bring benefits to the host municipality and barangay including improved grid security through flexible energy generation and would ensure that power interruptions are minimized, if not eliminated.
It said project could support 325,000 to 1,850,000 households with an average consumption of 200 kWh/month at a lower electricity rate impact to consumers.
It will also provide additional income to the host municipality and province through the increased share in the Internal Revenue Allocation, as a result of the added collection of business and property taxes from permits and clearances and corporate income tax.
The municipality of Pakil, Laguna posed on objection to the project.
