Sy family’s geothermal unit taps new energy source in Albay
Philippine Geothermal Production Company Inc. (PGPC), a unit of the Sy family’s SM Investments Corp., has begun its exploration activities for a new geothermal energy source in Albay.
The company said on Monday it already deployed a drilling rig at Mount Malinao as it develops a geothermal steam field in the province, where it hopes to get up to 49 megawatts (MW).
PGPC, dubbed as Southeast Asia’s first commercial geothermal power resource provider, is developing various concession areas in Luzon.
Last year, it said the new concession sites were located in the provinces of Kalinga, Benguet, Cagayan, Quezon, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur.
“These new concession sites have the potential to provide up to 300 MW of renewable energy to the island of Luzon in the next few years,” the firm said in a statement.
PGPC president Napoleon Saporsantos Jr. said earlier that the projects targeted for completion in the next five to seven years would bolster the Philippines’ energy goals.
The Marcos administration has an ambitious goal to increase the share of renewable energy in the power generation mix to 35 percent by 2030 from 22 percent.
Currently, PGPC is operating geothermal steam fields in Tiwi, Albay, and Mak-Ban spanning the adjacent provinces of Laguna and Batangas. Its operations in Tiwi began in 1979, which it said “ushered in the birth of the Philippine geothermal energy industry.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy (DOE) is working on the launch of a facility meant to reduce project risks for geothermal players. An official previously said that the proposed geothermal resource de-risking facility (GRDF) could be launched this year.
GRDF is envisioned to spread out the cost of exploration drilling among qualified developers at the pre-development stage. An initial $250 million was being eyed to jumpstart the facility.
According to a briefer from the DOE, the facility may recover the costs by imposing interest on loans, levying a royalty once the project becomes operational, and securing a share of project equity.
Industry players have said geothermal activities require hefty investments, with firms usually earmarking P1.5 billion to P2 billion to drill the first two wells.
