The 220 kW donated by the e8 is presently operating in Kiangan, where 10,000
square kilometres are used for rice terraces carved out of the mountainsides
some 2,000 years ago and irrigated by spring waters.
Le terrazze, principale attrazione turistica della regione della Cordillera,
sono state incluse dal 2001 nell'elenco dell'UNESCO che comprende i Patrimoni
dell'Umanità in situazione di rischio. Infatti, circa 30 per cento delle
terrazze sono stati dichiarate in stato di abbandono e i danni subiti da alcune
delle pareti in pietra e fango minacciano di erodere le montagne.
The terraces, the main tourist attraction in the northern Cordillera region,
were included in the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in Danger in 2001
after about 30 per cent of them were found abandoned. Also, damage to some of
their stone and mud walls threaten to erode the mountainsides.
Johane Meagher, e8 executive director, said that the hydropower plant's
$70,000 in annual revenue will go to a conservation fund to rehabilitate the
ancient rice fields. The project will also showcase sustainable rural energy
development, she said in a statement.
The plant, which was completed in December and has been connected to the
region's main grid, provides about 18 per cent of the province of Ifugao's
power needs, said the director of the Renewable Energy Management Bureau, Mario
Marasigan.
Electric power producers in Canadian-based e8 are Enel, American Electric
Power, Duke Energy, Electricité de France, Hydro Quebec, JSC (RusHydro), Kansai
Electric Power Corp., Ontario Power Corp., RWE AG, and Tokyo Electric Power
Co.
