ENERGY DEVELOPMENT Corp., the country’s biggest producer of geothermal energy, is set to expand globally by bidding for six to 10 prospective concession areas being offered by the Chilean government.
According to EDC president and COO Richard B. Tantoco, the company was in the process of filing its applications for the potential geothermal sites, but has yet to be awarded contracts. Should the concession areas be awarded to EDC, it would be able to put up geothermal power plants in those sites as soon as the reserves have been proven as viable, he added.
In preparation for planned geothermal operations in Chile, EDC has also put up EDC Chile Ltd., a limited liability company incorporated in Santiago, Chile, with the purpose of exploring, evaluating and extracting mineral or substance to generate geothermal energy.
“We needed to set up EDC Chile to undertake our business there. We are only applying for concessions now,” Tantoco said.
Provision of proof
In a regulatory filing, EDC said the bid rules for the geothermal concession areas called for the provision of proof of EDC Chile’s financial capability to participate in the bidding or evidence of financial support from its parent company.
“Letters of credit amounting to $80 million were issued by EDC in favor of EDC Chile as evidence of its financial support,” the filing stated.
Tantoco earlier said the company wanted to acquire concessions either independently or through partnerships overseas as part of the company’s plan to expand its geothermal operations worldwide.
Currently, EDC is the second-biggest geothermal producer in the world, next to the US-based Chevron.
“We are focusing on countries that have sufficient geothermal resources to justify our presence and we prefer these to one-off opportunities that have no potential to achieve scale,” he earlier said.
“We are planting the seeds for t
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