Several financing firms eye $185-M power plant

MANILA, Philippines - Pro-environment financing companies are investing in the $185-million geothermal facility of Filipino-owned renewable energy firm Emerging Power Inc. (EPI) in Oriental Mindoro, the company’s top official said over the weekend.

The investment comes on the back of President Aquino’s call for more investments in the renewable energy sector to address the country’s power crisis.

EPI chairman Martin Antonio Zamora said that Mekong Brahmaputra Clean Development Fund (MBCDF) of Vietnam, which is under the management of the Dragon Capital Group, and the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) are investing in the company’s 40-megawatt power facility.

“The entry of our pro-environment investors is in sync with the President’s call for renewable energy companies like EPI to help solve the power problem without harming the environment,” Zamora said.

Under the partnership agreement, 30 percent of the total investment would be direct equity and 70 percent debt financing sourced from Philippine banks. In line with this, Dragon Capital’s MBCDF and FMO are looking to invest around 15 percent in equity.

Zamora said EPI’s partners share the company’s advocacy for sustainable development projects.

Joseph Hoess, director at Dragon Capital, for his part said MBCDF is proud to be making its first investment in the Philippines with a highly reputable renewable energy company like EPI.

MBCDF engages in clean development investments that meet the ‘Triple Bottom Line’ principles of ‘People, Planet and Profit’, he said.

“These are sustainability values that demand a specific, measurable criteria for every investment’s positive impact on the environment and society as a whole,” he said.

Zamora said EPI’s geothermal project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro – which is set to start its drilling phase next month – would help stabilize power supply in the archipelago as it would help bring down electricity costs.

“The geothermal project is expected to result in as much as P2.1 billion in savings (or by 40 percent from P11 per kilowatt-hour to P6.58 per kwh) in electricity bills the people of Mindoro will pay in four years’ time,” he said.