Geothermal energy firm inks $75-M loan with WB unit

By: Amy R. Remo

Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:53 pm  Monday, May 23rd, 2011

MANILA, Philippines—Geothermal leader Energy Development Corp. said it has signed a $75-million loan with the International Finance Corp.,  the private sector investment arm of the World Bank group, to help fund its planned power projects.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, EDC further explained that the 15-year loan facility will help finance the company’s medium-term capital expenditure program, which would see the construction of facilities that can generate a combined 230 megawatts within existing concession areas, as well as a wind farm in Burgos, Ilocos Norte.

Company officials earlier said that EDC would have to invest $1 billion over the next five years to put up these greenfield geothermal power plants, which will help propel EDC to become the top geothermal company in the world. Currently, EDC is the second largest geothermal developer in the world, next to Chevron.

Among the greenfield, expansion and rehabilitation projects expected to be completed by 2015 are the 150-MW Bacman geothermal plant and the 86-MW wind farm in Burgos, Ilocos Norte (2012); the 40-MW Tanawon and 20-MW Nasulo geothermal projects (2013); 50-MW Mindanao 3 geothermal project (2014); and the 40-MW Rangas geothermal project and 40-MW Kayabon project (2015).

Overall, the company hopes to increase its attributable generating capacity by 38 percent to 1,542 MW, from the current 1,116 MW, within a five-year period starting this year (2011).

This loan facility would be IFC’s third investment in the company, providing EDC a fixed rate, long term local currency financing.

“EDC is the largest company currently utilizing geothermal sources of energy in the Philippines, thus our support will provide critical additional resources of an appropriate tenor to help develop projects in the geothermal energy sector and thereby, help the country move toward greater reliance on private sources of growth in the renewable infrastructure sector,” IFC documents earlier stated.

The World Bank unit’s first investment in EDC amounted to $49 million during its initial public offering (IPO) in 2006. IFC made a second investment by providing EDC its first commercial long term loan for $86 million in 2008.