CEPALCO's Renewable Projects
CEPALCO has, for more than a decade, been very active in developing alternative
and indigenous resources for power generation to meet its increasing demand
requirements and to augment the increasingly non-dependable central generation
facilities of its major power supplier. Among these indigenous resources are
renewable resources, which include hydro resources, solar photovoltaic and
biomass-fired generation facilities. The 7MW Bubunawan River hydro plant in
the municipalities of Libona and Baungon, Bukidnon is the first hydro commissioned
by CEPALCO in 2001 through its subsidiary company, the Bubunawan Power Co., Inc.
(BPC) while the 1MWp solar Pholtovoltaic Plant located in Indahag, Cagayan de Oro
City is the developing world’s largest when it was commissioned by CEPALCO in 2004.
Other hydro plants currently in the pipeline include:
Other hydro plants currently in the pipeline include:
The Cabulig River is located in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, around 45 minutes east of Cagayan de Oro City.
The feasibility study was completed in October 2006 with financial assistance from the EC – ASEAN Energy Facility.
The plant technical design was completed by IT Power of UK while the environmental studies and evaluation
were performed by Centric International of Austria; the financial analysis was performed by EEEC of Thailand.
The Cabulig River hydro project is expected to supply CEPALCO with not less than 40 million kWh annually starting 2011.
The proposed 8MW plant features 2 x 4MW Francis turbines, an open canal water conveyance system of around 3 km and a head of around 55 meters.
The Cabulig River hydro project is expected to supply CEPALCO with not less than 40 million kWh annually starting 2011.
The proposed 8MW plant features 2 x 4MW Francis turbines, an open canal water conveyance system of around 3 km and a head of around 55 meters.
The proposed Culaman River Hydroelectric power project is located in the municipalities of Sumilao and Manolo Fortich in Bukidnon, approximately 50
km southeast of Cagayan de Oro. CEPALCO’s reconnaissance activities in the Culaman River during the early part of 1990s resulted to a feasibility
study indicating a hydroelectric power potential of up to 10 MW at full supply water level of 425m ASL and tailwater level of 200m ASL and discharge
of 5.6 cms. Other estimates indicate that mean annual flow can go as high as 10.8 cms. The proposed hydro plant features two horizontal Francis type
turbine and two synchronous generators to maximize electricity production even during low flow.
The feasibility study of the plant which was conducted in 1998 is currently being updated. The Culaman River hydroelectric power plant is expected to help satisfy the growing electricity requirements of CEPALCO beyond 2010.
The feasibility study of the plant which was conducted in 1998 is currently being updated. The Culaman River hydroelectric power plant is expected to help satisfy the growing electricity requirements of CEPALCO beyond 2010.
The proposed Lower Bubunawan hydroelectric power project is located in the municipality of Baungon, Bukidnon and around 1.5 km downstream of the
existing 7MW Bubunawan Power Plant. The proposed hydroelectric power project still needs a full blown feasibility study (including geotechnical
and environmental studies) but pre-investment investigations indicate a potential of up to 20MW of capacity and an annual energy generation of up
to 107 million kWh.
The area around the service territory of CEPALCO is pre-dominantly agricultural and a number of agro-industrial facilities exist within the 100
km radius from Cagayan de Oro. Further, Cagayan de Oro is a fast growing, highly urbanized area where the volume of the municipal solid waste is growing tremendously each year.
Recognizing that these agricultural as well as municipal solid wastes are potential sources of energy, CEPALCO embarked into waste-to-energy studies, some of which are discussed
below.
Together with its foreign partners (based in Czech Republic and in Thailand), a reconnaissance study was conducted by CEPALCO in late 2005 at Cagayan de Oro’s
landfill site at Calaanan, which has been the dump site of Cagayan de Oro’s garbage for more than 25 years. A pre-feasibility study, made part of the EAEF-funded
"Increasing Access to Local Sources of Financing for Renewable Energy Investment and Design of Innovative Financing Instruments", was completed in early 2007.
On a base case scenario, the proposed LFGE project is estimated to produce around 89,000 kWH of electricity per day during its 15-year lifetime at a power plant capacity of around 4.1 MW. This volume of electricity will replace fossil fuels and reduce carbon emissions while at the same time capture the environmentally hazardous methane that naturally comes out of the landfill.
On a base case scenario, the proposed LFGE project is estimated to produce around 89,000 kWH of electricity per day during its 15-year lifetime at a power plant capacity of around 4.1 MW. This volume of electricity will replace fossil fuels and reduce carbon emissions while at the same time capture the environmentally hazardous methane that naturally comes out of the landfill.
Combined Heat and Power requirements of some agro-industrial plants increase the value of the energy generated by a waste-to-energy cogeneration
facility (a cogeneration facility produces heat as well as electrical energy). In 2006 CEPALCO conducted studies for a cogeneration facility that
will satisfy the heat or steam requirements of a local manufacturing facility for its food processing while at the same time provide the electricity
requirements of its equipment. The cogeneration facility shall use a mixture of biomass feedstock, which include the manufacturing facility’s own waste
products, wood wastes and rice hulls.
The proposed 4.2 MW cogeneration plant is estimated to produce not less than 24 million kWh of electricity per year and a steam generation of around 260,000 tons per year. The proposed plant will also displace the bunker diesel used by the food processing plant for its conventional boilers.
CEPALCO also considered a biomass-fired facility running on full-condensing mode (electricity generation only) and using feedstock available within Misamis Oriental and from the nearby provinces (bagasse, wood waste and rice hull). Estimated volume of these agricultural wastes can supply the fuel requirement of plant with a capacity of not less than 10MW and an annual electricity generation of not less than 68 million kWh.
A bagasse-fired cogeneration facility of Crystal Sugar in Maramag, Bukidnon is presently generating an excess power of not less than 5MW, especially during off-milling season. In line with CEPALCO’s renewable energy initiatives and its thrust of utilizing indigenous resources to supply its growing electricity requirements, CEPALCO is considering the addition of the 5 MW bagasse-fired power capacity into its power supply portfolio.
The proposed 4.2 MW cogeneration plant is estimated to produce not less than 24 million kWh of electricity per year and a steam generation of around 260,000 tons per year. The proposed plant will also displace the bunker diesel used by the food processing plant for its conventional boilers.
CEPALCO also considered a biomass-fired facility running on full-condensing mode (electricity generation only) and using feedstock available within Misamis Oriental and from the nearby provinces (bagasse, wood waste and rice hull). Estimated volume of these agricultural wastes can supply the fuel requirement of plant with a capacity of not less than 10MW and an annual electricity generation of not less than 68 million kWh.
A bagasse-fired cogeneration facility of Crystal Sugar in Maramag, Bukidnon is presently generating an excess power of not less than 5MW, especially during off-milling season. In line with CEPALCO’s renewable energy initiatives and its thrust of utilizing indigenous resources to supply its growing electricity requirements, CEPALCO is considering the addition of the 5 MW bagasse-fired power capacity into its power supply portfolio.