Renewable energy company Alternergy Holdings Corp. led by former Energy secretary Vicente Pérez Jr. plans to develop 1,245 megawatts of additional wind, solar and run-of-river hydropower projects in the next five years.
The company has so far developed 67 MW of operating assets in wind and solar, with another 62 MW of hydro and solar projects under construction.
Alternergy, along with Markham Resources Corp., another renewable energy company led by Francisco Tiu Laurel of the Frabelle Group, is also developing the Dupinga Mini Hydropower Project of Dupinga Mini Hydro Corp.
DMHC aims to complete the 4.6-megawatt mini hydro plant in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija by early 2024, following a P600-million funding support from the Development Bank of the Philippines.
“We are pleased to receive DBP’s approval of financing as it speaks confidence in our Dupinga project and our commitment to harnessing renewable energy,” DMHC president and chief executive Eduardo Martinez-Miranda said.
DBP announced the approval of funding for the Dupinga project under DBP’s Financing Utilities for Sustainable Energy Development program, which aims to contribute to the increased access to electricity services through the financing of utility-scale energy generation projects.
“We were one of the few energy projects that commenced construction at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The DBP loan will provide strong support to the ongoing construction of the Dupinga Project as we target completion by early 2024,” Miranda said.
He said hydropower projects have a long gestation process due to the volume of permits and clearances needed during the pre-development stage and the challenges associated with civil works.
The Department of Energy awarded the Dupinga project its hydropower service contract in 2010. The right to further develop the project and utilize the hydro resource was transferred to DMHC in 2017 after the approval by the DOE.
DMHC said it conducted extensive technical studies and public consultations and secured permits.
It said the Dupinga project also ensures the protection of ancestral domain and the development of the indigenous people’s community as part of the memorandum of agreement signed with the Katutubong Dumagat of Central Luzon.