LISTED Energy Development Corp. (EDC), the country’s largest geothermal producer, said on Wednesday that it has opted to recommission a portion of the 49-megawatt (MW) Northern Negros geothermal power plant.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, EDC said it will be conducting an initial assessment of the quality of data already gathered before resuming and completing the programmed survey following the completion of 61 percent of the targeted geophysical stations as of end-March.
EDC said it implemented activities in line with the optimization of the Pataan Production Sector by testing the combination of three existing production wells while its technical personnel undertake an initial data analysis and evaluation.
In the process, EDC said it has opted to convert to electricity the geothermal steam generated during the testing and has re-commissioned the power plant at a gross capacity of 8.5 MW as of April 5.
EDC said the power plant will be operated for only a limited period of time, or about three months.
The company added that the geophysical testing will resume as soon as the technical team concludes its evaluation of the survey data already collected.
In November last year, EDC decided to shut down the Northern Negros geothermal power plant after it entered into a technical agreement with consultants from the US and New Zealand.
Miguel Ogena, EDC vice president for technical services, said the international third-party experts they engaged to study the resource have validated their findings.
Ogena said the consultants confirmed that the area is challenging and that further technical studies are needed.
“Admittedly, this will entail more investments and time but we are determined to make the resource viable for the province to benefit from clean, indigenous energy,” he added.
Ogena said the shutdown shall be by about midnight of November 21, 2010, and the technical study was to last for nine months at an estimated cost of P6 million.
“The power plant has been due for preventive maintenance since June 2010, but we deferred it due to the tight power supply in the Visayas. Now that several new power plants are coming in and some units of the geothermal plants of Green Core have been rehabilitated, it is a good time for us to conduct the maintenance work,” Ogena said.
The power plant and steamfield need to be shut down while technical studies are being conducted as the survey will need zero disturbance of the reservoir. During the shutdown, EDC will continue to implement its environmental management and community relations programs that have benefited the stakeholders.
In May last year EDC said that it has recommissioned and synchronized its Northern Negros geothermal power plant back into the grid.
EDC added that the Northern Negros geothermal power plant has been synchronized back into the grid and has completed a 24-hour re-commissioning run as of midnight of May 14, 2009.
EDC added that the power plant shall produce about 10 MW for a period of about 60 days or more.
The period, according to EDC, will provide them with continuing scientific and engineering data to ensure a sustainable extraction of the geothermal resource.
In May 2008 EDC announced the temporary shutdown of its Northern Negros geothermal power plant in Bago City, Negros Occidental, due insufficient steam production owing to the decline in steam output results from uncontrolled calcite clogging of its geothermal wells.
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