PH Poised To Have First-Ever Seawater Pumped Storage Hydropower System

The Philippines is set to establish its first-ever seawater pumped storage hydropower system, aimed at contributing to the country's energy supply.

Gugler Water Turbines GMBH has been contracted to construct storage generation facilities across the country. I Photo: Gugler Water Turbines Facebook

The initial facility will be built in Real, Quezon, and is projected to produce 320 megawatts (MW) of clean power.

Repower Energy Development Corporation (REDC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pure Energy Holdings Corp., will develop this innovative system. REDC has been granted a Hydropower Service Contract by the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop and build the system.

The company has also entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Austria-based Gugler Water Turbines GMBH to construct storage generation facilities across the country.

The first project, located in Luzon, will be situated approximately 300 meters above sea level, utilizing the coastline for seawater intake.

REDC will fund the pre-feasibility and initial activities from internally generated funds. Eric Peter Y. Roxas, President and CEO of REDC, highlighted the pioneering nature of this initiative in the Philippines, emphasizing REDC's role as a force in clean energy.

He noted that the world's first pumped storage hydropower system, built on the northern coast of Okinawa Island, Japan, utilized the Philippine Sea as its lower reservoir.

REDC currently develops run-of-river hydropower projects using a clustered approach method, providing shared economies of scale through the common use of facilities such as distribution and transmission lines.

The company owns and operates such hydropower plants in Laguna, Quezon, and Camarines Sur, with ongoing constructions in Quezon and Bukidnon.