A confluence of economic and political events has forced First Gen Corp. to pull out and abandon plans to pursue a geothermal power project in Peru.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, subsidiary Energy Development Corp. (EDC) said the board of directors and stockholders of Energy Development Corp. Peru SAC, have decided to “no longer pursue exploration and development activities in Peru due to political and market factors.”
But EDC said it remains interested in pursuing overseas projects in Indonesia, Taiwan, and Chile.
First Gen has combined capacity of 3,500 megawatts (MW) from a portfolio of natural gas, geothermal, hydroelectric, wind and solar power units.
Some 1,480 MW is generated by EDC equal to 20 percent of the total installed renewable energy in the country and its 1,185.40 MW geothermal portfolio accounts for 62 percent of installed geothermal capacity, making the Philippines the third largest geothermal producer in the world.
First Gen expects the completion of a geothermal power plant expansion program and start the construction of a pumped storage hydro power project this year.
The company said the ongoing construction of the 28.9 MW Palayan binary project in Bicol is scheduled for commercial operation this September and start construction of the 100 MW Aya pumped-storage hydro power project in Nueva Ecija.
First Gen is spending as much as $20 billion until 2030 to add up to 9,640 MW capacity and manage a portfolio of around 13,000 MW by that time.
