ENERGY projects worth P439 billion to be developed by Prime Infrastructure Inc. have received green lane certification from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual presented the Certificates of Endorsement to Enrique Razon Jr., Prime Infrastructure chairman of the board.

The two projects include the 1,400-megawatt (MW) Pakil Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Project of Ahunan Power Inc., which is said to be one of the largest in Asia, and the 600-MW Wawa Pumped Storage 1 Hydroelectric Power Project of Olympia Violago Water and Power Inc.

Pascual said that the granting of the green lane certificates, under Executive Order 18, is in line with the administration's efforts toward developing secure, sustainable, and resilient energy strategies to further economic development.

"As the Philippines strives for inclusive and equitable economic growth, we at the DTI recognize the need to expand our energy sources, particularly to clean and sustainable ones," the Trade chief said in a statement on Wednesday.

With an initial investment amounting to $5.03 billion or over P296 billion, the Pakil project is expected to supply 2 million households with around 10 to 12 hours of 1,200 MW of power per day.

The Wawa Pumped Project, meanwhile, has a project investment worth $2.57 billion or P143 billion. It has a storage capacity of 6,000 megawatt-hours per day and will ensure sustainable energy solutions for 35 years or until 2064.

Both projects are slated to be operational by 2030.

"The pumped storage hydroelectric power projects are primarily designed to address the anticipated influx of variable renewable energy by storing excess capacity in the grid when there is an oversupply from renewable energy projects and releasing the same back to the grid when needed," said DTI.

Razon said that the green lane endorsement from the DTI and Board of Investments will help Prime Infra and its subsidiaries in expediting the execution of the two projects.

"In our energy portfolio, we are strategically aggressive in the pumped storage space, given the critical role these projects will play in enabling government transition commitment," said Razon.

Moreover, the Trade department said that there is a need for growth in the country's clean and sustainable energy resources as it continues to expand and meet the target of achieving a 35-percent renewable energy share in the national power generation mix by 2030.

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