Leading Philippine power producer to build more hydro plants

Clean energy company First Gen Corporation intends to build two hydropower plants with a combined capacity of 600 megawatts.

A company subsidiary, First Gen Prime Energy Corporation, will build a 300 MW hydropower plant at the Pantabangan River in Nueva Ecija in northern Luzon.

Another subsidiary, First Gen Premier Energy Corporation, will look into the feasibility of building a 300 MW facility at the Angat River in Norzagaray, Bulacan in central Luzon.

First Gen President Francis Giles Puno said both these new hydropower projects represent the company’s approved renewable energy contracts with the Department of Energy.

“Both projects are still in their predevelopment stage and are undergoing site investigation to determine feasibility,” Puno explained.

The company’s gross generation capacity reached 2,763 MW in 2012. First Gen is also looking at run-of-river hydropower projects in Mindanao island in southern Philippines with a capacity of 91 MW.

First Gen accounts for some 18% of the Philippines’ total installed power capacity.