Hydro business fueling AboitizPower’s RE wave

BENGUET, Philippines — Aboitiz Power Corp. is turning the steady flow of hydropower earnings into momentum for the next wave of its renewable energy (RE) expansion.

Speaking to visiting reporters, Aboitiz Renewables Inc. first vice president and general manager for hydro operations Noreen Vicencio said subsidiary Hedcor is poised to drive the group’s RE strategy.

“We need to operate really well because our income is going to be used to fuel the growth plans of RE. We support the growth by actually providing resources,” Vicencio said.

Hedcor is the leading operator of run-of-river hydropower plants across the Philippines, managing 22 facilities with a combined capacity of 280 megawatts (MW) in Luzon and Mindanao.

As AboitizPower’s clean energy arm, Aboitiz Renewables is driving the group’s bold targets to reach an RE capacity of 4,600 MW over the next five years.

“What’s good about run-of-river plants is that they are actually built to last 25 to 50 years,” Vicencio said, highlighting Hedcor’s role as an “enabler” of AboitizPower’s RE expansion.

Over the next three years, the official said, Hedcor is more focused on maximizing the potential of its existing assets than developing new power plants.

“We have innovation projects that we are looking at that can increase either the reliability or efficiency of our plants,” Vicencio said.

She emphasized, however, that the company remains ready to invest when viable opportunities arise as it continues to actively explore “best possible areas” for its expansion.

In Benguet, Hedcor owns and operates nine run-of-river hydro plants, with the 20.4-MW La Trinidad Hydro as its biggest in the province.