Renewable energy provider Matuno River Development Corp. said Tuesday it will commence commercial operations of an 8-megawatt hydroelectric power plant in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya province in December.
The run-of-river project is expected to feed power to the grid while also providing irrigation to farmers in Nueva Vizcaya.
“The project is a realization of the company’s plan to push forward the Department of Energy’s agenda towards making renewable energy a significant part of the country’s energy mix,” MRDC president Armando Diaz said in a statement.
The project is located along Matuno River, a tributary of the Magat Dam, which has a large watershed area of 590 square kilometers.
The power plant was built utilizing top-of-the-line European equipment from Global Hydro Energy GmbH in Austria.
It will be connected to the Bayombong Substation of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines where its expected output of 8 MW will go towards augmenting the power supply needs of Luzon.
The project will add much-needed capacity in the grid amid the anticipated increase in demand.
“The company is very much optimistic and bullish in our push for green energy which we are proud to say, defies the limitations of the current pandemic and its restrictions,” Diaz said.
The company attributed this to the strong support of the Department of Energy, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, National Irrigation Administration, the Board of Investments and the local government and the community who continue to rally for the quick completion of the project.
The company said it is committed to a strong corporate social responsibility presence in Bambang where they hired locals for employment, organized tree-planting activities and conducted feeding programs for the youth.
MRDC coordinated with Gawad Kalinga and other peoples’ organizations to plan future CSR projects in the area.
MRDC is a project company under Magis Energy Holdings Corp., a Filipino company established in 2019 to seek opportunities in the renewable energy sector, particularly in the underserved rural communities.
Magis Energy is also the owner of another hydro power project, Taft Hydro Energy Corp. which will soon operate a 16-MW facility in Eastern Samar.