By Jonathan L. Mayuga - February 28,
2020
The Energy Development Corp. (EDC)
is targeting to put up binary plants in each of its existing geothermal plants
in the country to boost its power-generation capacity by the end of the year.
A unit of the Lopez-owned First Gen
Corp. which has the largest portfolio of power plants using clean and renewable
technology, EDC is a geothermal energy industry pioneer in the Philippines.
The company said the binary plants
will allow the company to enhance its power-generation capacity without
building new power plants outside existing geothermal concessions.
EDC currently operates geothermal
plants in Kananga and Ormoc Leyte; Valencia in Negros Oriental; Bacon in
Sorsogon and Manito in Albay; and Kidapawan in North Cotabato.
Interviewed at the sidelines of the
3rd Philippine Environmental Summit in Cagayan de Oro City, Allan V. Barcena,
head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Frances L. Ariola, specialist
Corporate Communications of EDC bared that this year, the company is focusing
on binary plants.
“When you say binary plants, these
are low-capacity plants with 5 to 20 megawatts. They are easy to set up,” said
Barcena. “We plan to have one per site. The source of binary plants is
geothermal steam. We are now complying with the permit requirements.”
Compared to big capacity
conventional power plants with a capacity of 100 megawatts or more,
binary plants do not need huge investments, as these are located inside
existing geothermal concessions.
Barcena explained that most of the
remaining expansion areas for geothermal energy in the Philippines are inside
Protected Areas.
The permitting process for
development projects in Protected Areas are “very tedious,” especially because
existing law prohibits disruption of ecosystems and wildlife that thrives in
these areas that are set aside for conservation.
Currently, the geothermal plants of
EDC have a power generation capacity of up to 1,400 megawatts.
“These binary plants are actually to
maximize steam and there’s no need to build plants,” he said.
He added that in doing so, EDC will
be pioneering the reinjection technology, a heat recovery process wherein
excess heat from wet steam will be harvested and reinjected in the reservoir.
Over time, the excess heat adds to the sustainability of power-generation
capacity of the plants.
“Steam in the Philippines is wet
steam. Before it gets to the turbine, the water called brine are usually
thrown away. Here, we will harvest them and reinject it into reservoir and
overtime, to produce more heat,” he said.
He also said the binary plants the
company plans to build are all inside the geothermal concession, hence, it will
not require the company to undergo a tedious permitting process compared to
building a new plant outside existing concession areas.
EDC, he said, does not have new
concession areas and do not plan to go inside Protected Areas because of the
challenge of the permitting process. Also, he said it has something to do
with the company’s strong commitment to protecting the environment.
The company, which has a total
capacity of close to 1,500 megawatts, also operates a solar farm in Burgos,
Ilocos Norte, and Hydropower plant in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija. It is
venturing in solar rooftop power generation, targeting shopping malls.
EDC has a share of 37 percent of the
total renewable energy power generation the capacity of the Philippines.
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