EDC eyes $540-M boost to geothermal power plant fleet
Lopez-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC) may have to shell out around $540 million to increase the capacity of its Bacon-Manito (Bac-Man) geothermal field in the Bicol region.
In an interview with reporters, Jerome Cainglet, EDC president and chief operating officer, said they saw a potential of additional 90 megawatts (MW) when doing assessment in the area.
Excluding expenses for drilling activities, putting up the facility would require about $6 million per megawatt, according to Cainglet.
However, Cainglet said the expansion plan may be pursued in the next five or six years, as EDC still needs to conduct exploration activities.
The Bac-Man complex is situated in a 25,000-hectare geothermal power reservation. It covers areas in Bacon, Sorsogon City and Manito in Albay.
The Bac-Man originally had two steam power generating complexes. But Cainglet said EDC would equip the production field with a 20-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) by next year.
22 MW in Tanawon
Last Friday, EDC officially inaugurated the P7-billion Tanawon Geothermal Power Plant in Sorsogon City. This boosts the complex with an additional 22 MW of generating capacity.
The new facility’s net annual output is seen to hit 159,000 megawatt-hours, further supporting the country’s need for baseload renewable energy capacity.
On top of BESS in the Bac-Man field, three more projects are poised to come online this year. These are the 28-MW Mahanagdong Binary Geothermal Power Plant in Leyte, 10-MW BESS in Leyte and 10-MW BESS in Negros Oriental.
Negros Occidental may also receive a boost in power generation capacity with the slated completion of the 5.6-MW Bago Binary Geothermal Power Plant.
EDC is a subsidiary of First Gen focused on geothermal, hydro, wind and solar projects.
With EDC’s continuous rollout of geothermal projects, its portfolio now accounts for about 56 percent of the country’s total installed geothermal capacity.
Currently, the Philippines is the third-largest geothermal power producer in the world.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the current administration would lay out the necessary foundation, including establishing a de-risking facility, to make the Philippines the largest producer of geothermal power.
