The 16MW Taft Hydroelectric Power Plant is located in the Tubig River within the Samar Island Natural Park (SINP). It began construction in February 2020. Officially beginning operations in October 2022, the plant will be generating an estimated 71 GWh annually, providing power to the surrounding communities in Eastern Samar. It has generated local employment, reducing illegal logging and coal-making, as well as promoting bamboo reforestation.
Located in Barangay San Rafael on Samar Island, Taft Hydro is a 16MW hydropower station that utilizes high-caliber, run-of-river technology. In an area that experiences the highest rainfall in the Philippines, the power plant harnesses hydroelectric energy from the Tubig River within the Samar Island Natural Park (SINP). As Magis Energy’s first major project in operation, Taft Hydro has been officially running since October 2022.
Taft Hydro draws its power from the Taft-Tubig river, which drives three versatile Global Hydro Energy Francis-type turbines. Water is diverted through an Ogee-type crest dam which ensures leveraged water control and energy production. With a net head of 37 meters and a discharge of 48 cms, each of these powerful turbines bears a capacity of 5.31 megawatts each.
The project’s 350-meter transmission line connected to the existing 69kV Taft-Paranas line has made renewable electricity accessible across Samar. Taft Hydro is able to annually generate 71 GWh of hydro-powered electricity.
After securing the requisite geotechnical surveys, measurements, and permits, Magis Energy Holdings was able to commence Taft Hydro’s construction as early as February 2020. The hydropower plant’s construction was finished two years later in March 2022, in part thanks to the generosity of the Development Bank of the Philippines, with whom the project received a project financing loan closed in March 2021.
By October 2022, the power station was granted a Final Certificate of Approval to Connect, marking the official beginning of its commercial operations. The project will also eventually qualify for the Department of Energy’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) program; however, it currently receives most of its revenue from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
In an area once ridden by illegal logging and coal-making causing deforestation, Taft Hydro’s renewable energy generation has decreased carbon dioxide emissions in Barangay San Rafael by approx. 50,686 tonnes annually. Moreover, the project has even paved the way for sustainable employment generation. Instead of the Samar locals relying on pernicious environmental practices, they have been gainfully employed under Taft Hydro.
Beyond that, the proponents of Taft Hydro also have an upcoming bamboo reforestation project within Samar. This project counters the deforestation caused by logging and coal-making by replenishing the island’s watershed source. This will also continue the upward trajectory of sustainable employment with jobs designated for plantation maintenance, long-term harvest of fast-growing bamboo, and transformation of the raw bamboo into construction-grade, engineered bamboo.
