AboitizPower to expand 750 MW geothermal complex in the Philippines
This article is part of a daily series of IPP articles. If you want to know more about the latest power generation projects globally visit our IPP Today section. You can receive them by email on a daily basis.
AP Renewables, Inc. (APRI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of AboitizPower, has signed a Geothermal Resources Supply and Services Agreement (GRSSA) with the Philippine Geothermal Production Company, Inc. (PGPC) to expand the Tiwi and MakBan Geothermal Complex, which has an installed capacity of nearly 750 MW.
The complex comprises 458 MW Makiling-Banahaw (MakBan) power plants, which are located along the border between Batangas and Laguna provinces, and 289 MW Tiwi plants, located in Albay. It is the fourth-largest geothermal project in the world.
First commissioned in 1979, PGPC has since operated the steamfield facilities, responsible for the provision of geothermal resources to the power plants. AboitizPower took over the operations and management of the power plant facilities from the National Power Corporation in 2009.
The plants now supply 15% of the grid in Luzon, the biggest electricity market in the country.
The GRSSA covers the supply of steam and drilling of new production wells in the complex. Under the GRSSA, PGPC will drill 12 new production wells over a six-year period to increase steam availability for the power plant facilities by about 20%. The agreement also ensures a more competitive fuel pricing in the long term.
The Philippines currently has the second largest installed capacity of geothermal power in the world, with around 1,870 MW installed as of January 2018. This accounts for 9% of the country's total installed capacity. The government aims to increase this by 70% by 2030.
A substantial pipeline of projects ensures that the country is already on its way to achieving this ambitious target. For example, Red Core Investment Corp. is currently developing a 60-100 MW geothermal power project in southeast Luzon, having secured funding from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) in October 2017.
