The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) teamed up for a three-year technical cooperation project to conduct a nationwide inventory of potential hydropower sites, the DOE said Tuesday.
The initiative aims to identify and assess viable large-scale hydropower sites across the country to support sustainable power generation and encourage greater private sector participation through the DOE’s Open and Competitive Selection Process (OCSP).
“This project marks a crucial step toward harnessing the full potential of hydropower, particularly pumped storage, as a strategic enabler of a power system that is clean, flexible, and resilient,” Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said in a statement.
“Japan’s global leadership in hydropower innovation brings immense value to this collaboration,” he said.
Lotilla and JICA chief representative Baba Takashi signed the records of discussion for the project on resource inventory of hydropower potential sites on June 9, 2025. The project is scheduled to begin in September 2025.
The project will focus on developing a national inventory of large-scale hydropower sites, especially those suitable for impounding and pumped-storage technologies with capacities exceeding 100 megawatts (MW).
The signing ceremony was also attended by Japan’s Minister for Economic Affairs Yokota Naobumi.
The project will be implemented in three phases, starting with gathering relevant data such as topographic maps, rainfall, and flow data, and conducting field surveys of four priority sites. These sites will serve as pilot areas for pre-feasibility studies and potential future investment opportunities.
The DOE said the effort builds on longstanding energy cooperation between the Philippines and Japan. It expands upon groundwork laid by a 2012 JICA-supported study that assessed the potential of small- to medium-scale run-of-river, reservoir and pondage hydropower plants below 100 MW.
