ALTERNERGY Holdings Corp. is eyeing various options in selling the power output of the 17.4 megawatts (MW) Kiangan run-of-river hydro project it is developing in Ifugao Province.

Gerry Magbanua, Alternergy president, told reporters in a briefing in Makati City last week the company eyes to enroll the project in the feed-in-tariff (FIT) or the third round of the Green Energy Auction (GEA-3). 

The third option is bilateral contract.

“…Feed-in-tariff is not yet fully subscribed so there’s still about 168 MW available. We will see if GEA-3 would be more attractive to us depending on what prices will be made available. There’s always the possibility of entering into a bilateral agreement with a potential off-taker,” Magbanua said.

Power plants granted with FIT are assured fixed rates determined by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for their produced power for 20 years. 

Under GEA, RE producers compete for incentivized fixed power rates by offering prices that are lower than or equal to reserve prices also set by the ERC.

Rates for run-of-river hydro for both FIT and GEA are yet to be decided by the ERC.

Magbanua said Alternergy is keen on pursuing local projects equipped with energy storage systems (ESS) citing a project it did in Palau for a 15.3 MW solar project with a 12.9 megawatt hours battery ESS.

“We don’t have in-house facilities to manufacture the energy storage system, but that is something that can be obtained or procured from reputable suppliers. We’ll be looking at the market and get the best provider,” Magbanua said.

Alternergy is preparing to raise additional P15 billion to add 191 MW in its project portfolio.