Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative Inc. (Soleco) has put up a picohydro power generation system, the first of its kind in the country, state-run National Electrification Administration (NEA) said.

In a statement, NEA said Soleco’s picohydro system, which started operating in Aug. 12, utilizes tail water from the Hanabian Minihydro Power Plant and generates power of up to 600 watts with maximum water flow velocity of 4.6 meter per second.

It has partnered with Helios Altas and DA Green Power Consultancy which also undertook development of project feasibility studies.

Using the mechanism of a waterwheel, the picohydro system has an engineered suspension system for easy mounting, making it one of the most adaptable small-scale renewable energy (RE) technologies to environmental changes.

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