P30-B EDC geothermal project proceeding as scheduled

A subsidiary of First Gen Corp. is on track to finish its P30-billion geothermal drilling program next year, as it embarks on completing 11 new wells next year.

most of the drilling would be in Leyte and Mt. Apo in Mindanao.

Jerome Cainglet, president and chief operating officer of Energy Development Corp. (EDC), said the new wells were among the 40 fresh geothermal sources it committed to develop from 2024 to 2026.

He noted that EDC would drill in six exploration sites this year, while the remaining five would be pursued in 2026.

For this project, Cainglet said they were initially looking at an additional 85 megawatts (MW).

“But we think that while some wells failed, some wells did better than expected. So we think we’re gonna exceed that,” he told reporters in a recent chance interview.

The company is engaged in power generation sourced from solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal.

In the Philippines, EDC has a total capacity of 1,480.19 MW, accounting for almost 20 percent of the country’s installed renewable energy capacity. Its primary source is geothermal, with 1185.40 MW.

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The multi-billion peso initiative of EDC for geothermal complements its parent firm’s target to become an even bigger player in the renewables market.

Late in May, First Gen bared its bold move to unload 60 percent of its stake in gas assets to Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. for P50 billion.

Following this development, its chair and chief executive officer Federico Lopez said the deal with ports and infrastructure tycoon Enrique Razon would “provide First Gen with more resources to pursue its various renewable energy projects.”