ALTERNERGY Holdings Corp. has partnered with Exeter Portofino Holdings, Inc. for the development of the 6.8-megawatts (MW) Lamut-Asipulo hydropower project.
“We are happy to bring in Exeter as we create transformative partnerships in promoting clean energy and impacting the lives of the people,” Eduardo Martinez Miranda, president and chief executive officer for Alternergy Mini Hydro Holdings Corp., said in a media release on Thursday.
“While the development of hydropower projects could be long-gestation, the benefits of clean and renewable power are long-term and significant,” he added.
The Lamut-Asipulo project in Ifugao is expected to start operation by 2024, with its construction to start by the first quarter of 2023.
“Exeter and Alternergy share the same commitment to sustainability and improvement of the local communities and cultural heritage,” Sara Soliven de Guzman, chairperson of Exeter, said in the media release.
With the entry of Exeter as Alternergy’s co-partner, the renewable energy company said the Lamut-Asipulo hydropower project is now in an advanced stage of development and is expected to issue a notice to proceed to early construction in the coming months.
Alternergy said that the project will harness the flow of water from the Cawayan river and convert it to clean and renewable power. The hydropower project is expected to generate about 33,270 megawatt-hours of renewable energy per year.
The company said that it also signed a memorandum of agreement with indigenous peoples as the project is located within the ancestral domains of the Kalanguya, Ayangan and Tuwali indigenous cultural communities.
It said the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples en banc has issued the “certification precondition,” which states that free, prior and informed consent had been obtained from the indigenous community.
Alternergy aims to develop up to 1,370 MW of additional wind, offshore wind, solar, and run-of-river hydro projects in the next five years. — Ashley Erika O. Jose