Exeter-Portofino Holdings Inc., is partnering with renewable energy company Alternergy Holdings Corp. to build a run-of-river hydropower project in Ifugao.
According to Alternergy, it signed an investment framework agreement with Exeter for the development of the Lamut-Asipulo hydropower project with a potential capacity of 6.8 megawatts. The project, which will rise between the towns of Lamut and Asipulo, is already under development, with Alternergy expected to issue a notice in the coming months.
It intends to harness the flow of water from the Cawayan River which will then be converted into clean energy.
“The Lamut-Asipulo hydropower project is also an opportunity for us to continue and expand the work our family has started in Ifugao,” said Sara Soliven de Guzman, Exeter chair.
“While the development of hydropower projects could be long-gestation [undertakings], the benefits of clean and renewable power are long-term and significant,” said Eduardo Martinez Miranda, Lamut-Asipulo Mini Hydro Corp. president.
The project is situated in the ancestral land of the Kalanguya, Ayangan and Tuwali indigenous cultural communities, who have given their approval of the project with a signed memorandum of agreement..
The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) has also certified that the proponent secured the approval of local groups.
