NIA, BPEC to test viability of micro-hydro power plants

MANILA, Philippines — State-run National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has partnered with BPE Corp. (BPEC) to explore the possibility of developing a micro-hydroelectric power plant at the Angat-Maasim River Irrigation System (AMRIS) in Bulacan.

NIA acting administrator Eddie Guillen and BPEC president Jesus Francisco Gabriel Delgado have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the conduct of major studies for the development of a micro-hydroelectric power plant at the AMRIS South Main Canal.

Based in Pasig, BPEC is a renewable energy firm backed by BlueCap Hydro (BCH) Group of Hague, Netherlands.

The project is part of NIA’s innovation and modernization thrusts, particularly in the utilization of irrigation project for renewable energy development.

Guillen said the agency received a proposal to install turbines along with the repairs of the AMRIS South Main Canal gates.

Under the MOU, BPEC will shoulder the cost to conduct  studies on the financial, socio-economic, and technical viabilities of the project.

“There is no cost to the NIA for this project. They will first look at what specific technology will work. What will happen is that they will rent our facility to install the turbines at the gates,” Guillen said.

“This will allow us to harness renewable energy at the canal and repair the old gates at no cost to government,” he said.

The MOU also stipulates that BPEC shall ensure the NIA properties and facilities will not be damaged and further ensure that the timely irrigation needs of its service area will not be affected or compromised.

“The advantage for NIA is that we save money on the repair of the gate, and we’ll earn from the rent of the facility, and the savings we generate can be used for postharvest facilities there. This is really a good opportunity for us,” Guillen said.

Last year, the NIA pushed for public-private partnerships (PPPs) to pursue big-ticket multipurpose projects with renewable energy components.

In line with this, the NIA signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center last March to formalize their collaboration to boost the utilization of NIA’s assets and irrigation projects.

Under the partnership, NIA aims to maximize the technical services of the PPP Center in terms of its capacity-building for the utilization of various PPP modalities for irrigation projects.

As of March 29, the NIA identified 50 potential projects for PPP with seven revenue streams, namely, hydroelectric power, solar power, aquaculture, wind energy, bulk water supply, water treatment, and carbon credits.

NIA said funding is its biggest challenge in undertaking big-ticket multi-purpose projects.

It also pointed to the slow phase of project preparation due to failure of local consultants to deliver necessary outputs like feasibility study and detailed engineering design, as well as the conversion of developed irrigated areas to other land uses like residential, industrial, and other purposes.

The lack of budgetary support has led to slow irrigation development in the Philippines at two percent of the potential irrigable area of 1.3 million hectares annually.

PPP is not new to NIA as the Casecnan Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project (CMIPP) located in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija is a PPP project implemented by the agency.

The project generates electricity through the 150-megawatt (MW) hydroelectric power plant and diverts water through a 26.27-kilometer underground tunnel into the Pantabangan Reservoir.