Overview
The Poechos I Hydropower Project was the first Peruvian project to be registered as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project. The project is a hydroelectric power plant located in Peru, in the North-western Department of Piura with installed capacity and projected yearly average generation of 15.2 MW and 57,740 MWh per year, respectively.
The project was expected to displace in average 30,107 tCO2e per year, which accounted an estimation of 210,749 tCO2e for the third crediting period (7 years), generating the equivalent amount of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).
The project took advantage of the existing Poechos reservoir of 48 m height and approximately 1,000 m length (with a water discharge of 45 m³/s), constructed between 1971 and 1974, exclusively for the irrigation system named Chira-Piura. The machine house was built downstream at the bottom gate of the dam. The project used a portion of the discharged water from the Poechos Dam, affecting the flow of the Chira River and the Miguel Checa Canal. The water concession granted to the sponsors by the Peruvian Department of Agriculture was based upon the use of the flow required for agriculture, so that generation received lower priority than agricultural needs. Although the reservoir allowed for a multi-year regulation of the water, the project did not have facilities to regulate its energy production because the control of the discharges was managed by the Agricultural Authority of the region.
Benefits
The project contributed to sustainable development by:
- Helping SEIN keep thermal power plants shut down and use them only for stand-by power generation, thus displacing expensive generation fired by heavy fuel, diesel, coal and natural gas, while reducing GHG emissions;
- Employing local labor in construction and plant management;
- Facilitating electricity access by serving local demand. Specifically, the project has contributed to the country electrification making possible the building of the Sullana Electric Substation in an area where there was no electricity access. During the project implementation the substation provided reliable electricity to 6,000 families.
- Contributing to Peru’s fiscal accounts through the payment of taxes;
- Helping Peru improve its hydrocarbon trade balance through reduction of oil imports to be used for electricity generation;
- Improving local education and technical training opportunities, which have been committed to by SINERSA.