In line with its thrust to support new and renewable energy sources, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) approved a P660-million loan to develop the 4.6 megawatt (MW) Dupinga Mini Hydropower project in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija.
“The funding support for the Dupinga Project will help achieve the government’s goal of 30 percent renewable energy share in the country’s total energy mix by 2030,” according to DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa.
The loan extended to Dupinga Mini Hydro Corporation (DMHC) is under DBP’s Financing Utilities for Sustainable Energy Development (FUSED).
The program aims to contribute to the increased access to electricity services through financing of utility-scale energy generation projects.
“The Dupinga Project is located within the ancestral domain of the Katutubong Dumagat of Central Luzon and the Sierra Madre mountain range," the President noted.
"Ensuring the completion of this project through our funding support also assures that the welfare of our indigenous people and their community as well as the Sierra Madre are protected and remains sustainable.”
DBP is expected to release the first tranche from the approved DMHC loan this July to mobilize construction activities and target completion by early 2024.
DMHC is a partnership between Alternergy Holdings Corporation, a pioneering renewable energy company led by former energy secretary Vicente S. Pérez Jr., and Markham Resources Corporation, an investment company led by Francisco Tiu Laurel of the Frabelle Group.
The Dupinga Project is a small-scale run-of-river hydropower project that will harness water from the Dupinga River system and convert it clean, renewable electricity supply to Nueva Ecija II – Area 2 Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NEECO 2- Area 2).
The project is expected to spur economic activities and improve the welfare of the community through additional income from royalties, taxes and government share for every kilowatt of generated output.
The Dupinga Project’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program is focused on assisting the Katutubong Dumagats.