JICA funds mini-hydro plant

MANILA, Philippines - A 45-kilowatt mini-hydro power plant fully funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as a demonstration project is now providing power for households along the Magat River in Isabela province, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) announced yesterday.

The power plant, which was commissioned this month, was constructed along an irrigation canal in Lateral District 2 of the NIA-Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (MARIIS). The plant now provides power for 45 households with an individual consumption of 1000 watts.

It cost the Japanese government ¥80 million in grants to put up the project.

NIA Administrator Florencio Padernal said construction of the facility started in March and was completed this year. He said the agency would bidding out the contract for the construction of 50 new hydropower projects of various capacities “at the soonest possible time.”

“Although the new mini-hydroproject is not as big as what others expect, the significance of the project is enormous. NIA would like to replicate such projects in other areas.  That is one of the reasons why all our irrigation managers from the different regions are here,” he said.

NIA said the JICA-funded mini hydropower plant is the first of its kind in the country to utilize existing irrigation canals for power generation.

The NIA-MARIIS, through its Division II office, would operate and maintain the new facility.

In a related development, the NIA in collaboration with SN Aboitiz Power-Magat Inc. (SNAP-Magat), is set to begin in January the MARIIS dam optimization project which would increase the storage capacity of the MARIIS reservoir by up to eight million cubic meters, boosting its irrigation capacity.

NIA-MARIIS Operations manager Mariano G. Dancel said that after the completion of the project, the dam’s service area of 85,000 hectares would be covered entirely.

The project would also provide flexibility for power generation, potentially adding 7.75 megawatts of additional capacity for the Luzon grid.

The dam optimization project scheduled for completion in 2016.