Shariff Kabunsuan launches hydro plant

Wednesday, Nov 12, 2008

The government is pushing for the development of more natural energy sources to power off-grid areas in the country in order to save money, Energy Undersecretary Zamzamin Ampatuan said on Friday.

""Theres a big savings in this kind of endeavor. We can save on cost of diesel and coal we import from other countries,"" Ampatuan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer during the launching of the micro-hydro power facility in the village of Minabay here.

The hydro facility is a project of the Alliance for Mindanao Off-grid Renewable Energy Program (Amore), a partnership between Mirant Philippines, the government and the US Agency for International Development.

Ampatuan said tapping natural energy sources to power off-grid and remote areas of the country would translate into a savings of $3 billion or about P200 billion in fuel and coal imports.

""In Mindanao alone, millions of homes still have no electricity,"" he said, adding that renewable energy sources such as hydro, wind or solar could help bring power to these homes.

Source: Inquirer