The Philippine Geothermal Production Co. Inc. (PGPC) is conducting exploration and development activities for new geothermal energy sources in various parts of Luzon.
The company said its concession sites are located in geothermal rich areas in the province of Kalinga, Benguet, Cagayan, Quezon, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur.
The projects aim to establish fully operational geothermal fields generating between 250 to 400 megawatts of additional renewable baseload power that can be readily dispatched to power plants and other prospective off-takers.
“With these projects slated for completion within the next five to seven years, they will be sources of additional renewable baseload power that will help reduce the risk of power supply shortages in the Luzon power grid,” said Napoleon Saporsantos Jr., PGPC president.
Saporsantos also highlighted the socioeconomic benefits of the projects, noting that from exploration and development all the way to commercial operation, the geothermal power projects are expected to create over 2,000 jobs, with priority given to hiring qualified local residents in host communities.
PGPC pioneered Southeast Asia’s first commercial geothermal power project in 1971 and currently operates the Tiwi steam field in Albay and the Mak-Ban steam field in Laguna and Batangas. PGPC has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of SM Investments Corp. since 2017.
Based on data from the Department of Energy, the installed on-grid capacity from geothermal sources total 1,952 MW or 6.9 percent of the 28,291 MW total installed on-grid capacity from power-generating sources except battery storage and diesel-battery hybrids.
