By MYRNA M. VELASCO
Alcantara-owned Alsons Power will be investing in two more power hydropower projects in Negros Occidental and Zamboanga del Norte for aggregate capacity of 80 megawatts.
The proposed project development in Negros will be the 42-MW Bago hydro plant; while the one in Zamboanga del Norte will be the 38MW Sindangan hydropower facility, according to the company. No specific investment figures had been provided by the developer-firm yet on these two ventures.
The two projects will be next phase-investments to the ₱4.5-billion Siguil run-of-river hydropower facility that the company is currently pursuing in Sarangani province. The plant with 14.5MW capacity is due to reach commercial operations in 2022.
Alsons Power said these three projects that are already being concretized will be among the seven run-of-river hydropower facilities that the Alcantara firm has blueprinted for installation in a stretch of several years. Four other projects have yet to be specified – including their target implementation and capacities.
“Once completed and operational, these hydro power plants will constitute the bulk of the company’s power facilities,” the Alcantara firm said.
As emphasized by Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. Chairman and President Tomas I. Alcantara, “In the next few years, in terms of the number of power facilities, renewable energy will constitute the largest segment in Alsons Power’s portfolio.”
Prior to the company’s investment foray in renewable energy, it first focused attention on developing thermal energy facilities that helped stave off power supply crisis in Mindanao grid.
The Alcantara firm developed the two unit 210MW Sarangani coal-fired power project; and parallel to the hydro facilities, it is also advancing to construction phase its propounded 105MW San Ramon coal-fired power facility in Zamboanga City.
The company said it will soon select the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor to be tapped for the project. The San Ramon plant is targeted on stream by year 2023.
With its growing portfolio, the Alcantara group’s total power capacity now hovers at 468 megawatts – and it has been catering to the electricity needs of more 8.0 million people in 14 cities and 11 provinces.
Manifestly, despite open opportunity for it to expand investments in other parts of the country, the Alcantara group opted to inject most of its power investments first in Mindanao.