International electric power producers have donated a $1-million hydroelectric plant to the Philippine government to help save the country's famous rice terraces, officials said Friday. The 220-kilowatt plant donated by the nonprofit group e8 is now operating in the northern Ifugao province, home to 4,000 square miles (10,000 square kilometers) of steepling rice terraces carved out of the mountainsides some 2,000 years ago and irrigated by spring waters. The terraces, the main tourist attraction in the northern Cordillera region, were included in the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in Danger in 2001 after about 30 percent of them were found abandoned. Johane Meagher, e8 executive director, said the hydropower plant's $70,000 in annual revenue will go to a conservation fund to rehabilitate the ancient rice fields. The project will also showcase sustainable rural energy development, she said in a statement. The group turned over the plant to the Department of Energy at a ceremony in Manila Friday, said Mario Marasigan, director of the Renewable Energy Management Bureau. The plant, built by Tokyo Electric Power Company, was completed in December and has been connected to the region's main grid, providing about 18 percent of Ifugao's power needs, Marasigan said.
