The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has signed with a subsidiary of clean energy provider First Gen Corp. an agreement that allows the company to pursue the development of a 120-megawatt pumped storage hydroelectric facility in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, while preserving the status of the project site as part of a protected area.
The signed deal, called a Special Use Agreement in Protected Areas (SAPA), enables First Gen unit First Gen Hydro Power Corp. (FGHPC) to use a 36-hectare portion of the 84,000-hectare Pantabangan-Carranglan Watershed Forest Reserve for FGHPC’s Aya Pumped-Storage Hydroelectric Power Project or Aya Project. The agreement, executed only recently, is valid for 25 years, subject to renewal for another 25 years.
The SAPA signing reaffirms FGHPC’s commitment to pursue the Aya Project in accordance with Republic Act 11038, also known as the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (E-NIPAS) Act. First Gen is a subsidiary of Lopez-led First Philippine Holdings Corporation, a conglomerate with a strong advocacy to protect the environment.
E-NIPAS, which covers the country’s ecologically rich and unique areas and biologically important public lands in the country, is under DENR’s management as mandated by RA 11038.
The DENR issues a SAPA to enable productive use of the country’s protected areas by providing access to economic opportunities to indigenous people, tenured migrant communities, protected migrant communities and other protected area stakeholders. The agreement also aims to optimize the development of special-use projects, which are consistent with the principles of sustainable development and biodiversity conservation and in cooperation with stakeholders.
FGHPC is pursuing the Aya Project in support of government’s program to meet the country’s growing demand for electricity, while keeping carbon emissions low. The company already holds a hydropower service contract for the pumped storage project that the Department of Energy awarded in 2019. A pumped-storage facility stores and generates electricity by moving a volume of water between two reservoirs situated at different elevations (upper and lower reservoirs).
As part of the agreement, FGHPC officially remitted to the DENR a P69.1-million check as SAPA fee. During the signing ceremony, FGHPC presented to DENR officials an oversized replica of the check.
According to DENR’s Assistant Regional Technical Director Forester Joselito M. Blanco, the watershed forest reserve that will play a critical role in supplying power to the Luzon grid is the first ever to be awarded a SAPA in Region III or Central Luzon.
“Ito ang mag-boost ng ekonomiya sa bayan ng Pantabangan dahil it will generate employment especially when the pumped storage starts operations. Ang ating LGUs [local government units], may additional income na maibabalik din sa pangangalaga at proteksyon sa watershed,” Blanco said.
Blanco added: “Our partner First Gen Hydro advocates biodiversity conservation. Doon sa mga areas na may footprint niyo, talagang makikita ang partnership ng private sector at government in terms of managing our natural resources.”
Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Gerundio C. Fernandez commended FGHPC, because it is using renewable energy and veering away from fossil fuel. “The DENR appreciates that. Rest assured that we will extend whatever assistance we can give,” he said.
First Gen Senior Vice President Dennis P. Gonzales also stated:” This is one of our most crucial permits. We are thrilled to be able to continue our work on the Aya Pumped-Storage Project, and we are grateful for the support of our partners in DENR. We are also thankful to the [LGUs] and our stakeholders for their vote of confidence in us and for choosing us as their newest partner in protecting the watershed forest reserve.”
FGHPC also manages the 132-MW Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric power plant, which is part of a multipurpose project that provides irrigation to Nueva Ecija’s rice lands. The complex has the country’s largest storage-type hydropower facility.
FGHPC’s hydro facilities form part of First Gen’s portfolio of power plants that run on clean and renewable energy sources. Aside from hydro, the portfolio includes geothermal, solar and wind, which are renewable energy resources; and natural gas, the cleanest form of fossil fuel.
