Alsons Power of the Alcantara group has inked an omnibus loan and security agreement (OLSA) with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) for the P3.3 billion credit facility that will bankroll its Siguil hydropower project in Sarangani province.
The facility, which is of 14.5-megawatt capacity, will be the Alcantara firm’s initial investment foray in the renewable energy sector, which is very much aligned with the government’s “energy transition” agenda.
According to Alsons Power, the Siguil hydro plant is set to reach commercial operation date (COD) by the second quarter of next year – and it will add up to the growing power generation portfolio of the Alcantara-led firm in the southernmost power grid.
“Once operational, the Siguil hydro plant will be a source of renewable power to key areas of Mindanao,” the company stressed.
The hydropower facility will also be the take-off venture of Alsons Power when it comes to the array of RE projects that it will be pursuing in targeted sites within Mindanao and Visayas grids – the next ones advancing to full implementation would be the hydro installations for the Sindangan Zambo-River Power Corporation (SZPC) in Zamboanga del Norte and Bago Hydro Resources Corporation (BHRC) in Negros Occidental that are now at pre-construction phases.
On the firm’s move to secure project financing from DBP, Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) Chairman Nicasio I. Alcantara noted that “we share a common vision of bridging development gaps to improve the well-being of the people in the communities we are active in – doing so in a sustainable manner, and protecting the environment.”
He qualified that while Siguil hydro is the first in the targeted RE investment platform of the Alcantara group, “eventually, renewable energy sources will comprise at least half of ACR’s long term energy mix.”
Alcantara asserted that they are also eyeing DBP’s involvement in the project financing needs of the company’s future ventures in the RE space, given the bank’s thrust of promoting investments on clean energy technologies.
Alsons Power currently has 468MW of aggregate thermal capacities that have been catering to the electricity needs of at least eight million people in 14 cities and 11 provinces in Mindanao.
Alcantara recently apprised stockholders that the company “will continue to pursue and adjust our plans for the rest of the year and the medium term keeping in mind that the world economic conditions are constantly in flux.”
He similarly gave assurance that the firm “will work harder to preserve and advance our gains as we continue to aggressively pursue our plans to build our renewable energy portfolio,” adding that “we have multiple projects in different stages of planning and implementation.”