Generating power from renewable energy sources cannot exist in isolation from nature. In the case of hydropower plants, they rely on a water flow that is regulated by a forest with a thriving ecosystem and healthy soil. Without the ecology, even the most advanced clean energy systems cannot be reliable, efficient, or sustained.
Aboitiz Renewables Inc., the renewable energy arm of Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower), recognizes the need to safeguard watersheds to ensure consistent hydropower generation and reforest degraded slopes to operate geothermal reservoirs responsibly.
Across its portfolio of clean energy power plants, Aboitiz Renewables integrates environmental conservation into its operations, protecting natural resources to preserve it for the future.
As such, through all its subsidiaries, Aboitiz Renewables has planted more than 6.4 million trees across its sites in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. These were placed in critical watershed areas near hydro plants, along fire-prone buffer zones, and on eroding slopes where vegetation is essential to prevent landslides and sediment runoff. These green buffers help regulate water cycles, reduce flood risk, and stabilize terrain.
“Protecting the planet is not a solo effort, it is something we build into every project, every partnership, and every team. At Aboitiz Renewables, sustainability is not an add-on, it is a shared responsibility,” said Aboitiz Renewables President Jimmy Villaroman. “Earth Day reminds us that the future we are working towards is only possible if we build it together.”
Protecting vital waterways
In the heart of Mindanao lies Mount Apo, the Philippines’ highest peak and one of its most ecologically significant protected areas. It is also a vital watershed, feeding four run-of-river hydropower units of Hedcor, a subsidiary of Aboitiz Renewables.
This enables them to produce clean energy for thousands of homes and businesses.
But like many critical watersheds, Mount Apo faces threats of deforestation and encroachment. Recognizing this, Hedcor has taken a long-term view of protecting the forest to sustain the flow of renewable energy.
In two years beginning in 2022, Hedcor reforested over 10 hectares of degraded land in the Mount Apo Natural Park, exceeding its goal with over 16,000 native trees planted and helping secure the watershed’s future. Hedcor also turned over five million pesos to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as part of its Special Use Agreement in Protected Areas (SAPA), which is a binding agreement that allows for the use and/or development of a protected area. Through annual collections, the SAPA is able to fund environmental protection and conservation initiatives.
“Hedcor’s activities go beyond just complying with regulations it is rooted in real, measurable action. The company is setting a benchmark for what responsible energy development should look like in protected environments,” explained Clint Michael Cleofe, OIC-Protected Area Superintendent of the Mount Apo Natural Park.
Rivers within its host communities being central to Hedcor’s clean energy operations are also regularly protected through coordinated riverbank clean-up drives. In 2024 alone, Hedcor and its partners collected more than 700 kilograms of waste across priority waterways in Luzon and Mindanao.
In 2024, hydro power accounted for 8.9% of gross energy generation in megawatt-hours nationwide, with around 59% of all allocated water being used.
Conserving the rivers helps sustain the water supply and also supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, among them Responsible Consumption and Production -12 and Life Below Water -14.
Forest recovery in geothermal zones
In Tiwi, Albay and MakBan, Laguna, AP Renewables Inc. (APRI), AboitizPower’s geothermal arm, is tackling the long-term degradation of upland areas through slope reforestation and river rehabilitation.
In partnership with the National Power Corporation, APRI is restoring 20 hectares of streambanks and degraded land, with over 24,000 trees planted since 2022. These efforts directly support the health of geothermal power systems, which rely on stable underground water sources.
In the Philippines, around 8.2% of gross energy generation in megawatt-hours in 2024 came from a geothermal power source. The country is the third-largest geothermal producer in the world at 1,952 megawatts of installed capacity, making it an integral part of energy security and the energy transition.
Meanwhile, APRI continues to remove debris and waste from the Tigas River in Calauan, Laguna and Visitang-Naga River in Albay as part of DENR’s Adopt an Estero Program, which it has been part of since 2012. In 2023 alone, 81 volunteers from APRI and the rest of the community helped remove over 200 kilograms of solid waste, showing stewardship towards their environment and living out the message of “leaving things better than when we found it.”
“As stewards of our planet, we must take action and preserve our rivers. Through collaborative efforts, we are protecting the ecosystems and ensuring a sustainable future for generations,” shared APRI Senior Assistant Vice President for Safety, Health, and Environment Mavic Arago.
By integrating restoration, reforestation, and waterway protection into its operations, Hedcor, APRI, and the rest of Aboitiz Renewables demonstrate how environmental protection and clean power generation are under one unified mission.
As the Philippines looks to expand its renewable energy capacity, Aboitiz Renewables will Transform Energy for a Better World by continuing to grow its clean energy portfolio while helping conserve the natural world that underpins its operations.
