More private sector investments in geothermal energy urged

To augment the local supply of renewable energy, the Department of Energy, or DoE is calling on the private sector to ramp up investments that could uncover the country's geothermal capacities.

Energy Undersecretary Rowena L. Guevara said at a recent energy forum that there is a need to accelerate the development of low to medium-enthalpy geothermal resource areas for power generation.

Geothermal energy, a form of renewable energy, comes from the earth's heat and is produced by drilling production wells into the ground to tap high-temperature fluids from geothermal reservoirs.

Based on the recent geothermal inventory determined by the DoE, there are 145 geothermal areas in the country and only 7 fields are in operation.

"We want these potential capacities to be developed and we need your support as a national organization to further explore the potential of geothermal energy in the country," Guevara said.

RE development accelerating

"The bottomline here is that we are confident that RE development in the Philippines is accelerating and that we will meet our targets. But we cannot do it alone," she added.

To improve the industry playing field, the DoE is presently embarking on the economic feasibility of small-scale geothermal power projects for local power needs. It is also preparing a comprehensive data package showcasing this type of geothermal resource for future private investor participation.

Likewise, Guevara revealed that there is an ongoing amendment to the Department Circular No. 201910-0013 or the Omnibus Guidelines governing the award and administration of Renewable Energy Contracts and Registration of Renewable Energy Developers.

Relatedly, Guevara disclosed that the DoE is targeting to complete the fourth round of the open and competitive selection process or OCSP 4 within the year.

Investment promotion mechanism

The OCSP is an investment promotion mechanism where potential areas for clean energy development or pre-determined areas or PDAs are offered and bid out to private investors.

"The conduct of OCSP 4 and the approval of winning entities are likewise targeted this year," Guevara said.

Under OCSP 4, the DoE approved 19 PDAs, which are governed by the DC2023-06- 0019 issued on 8 June.

This year, three geothermal energy projects are under construction and are expected to be online by December — the 17 MW Tiwi Binary Geothermal Power Plant, 29 MW Palayan Binary Power Plant, and 2MW Biliran Geothermal Power Plant.

The remaining 5.6 Bago Binary Geothermal Power Plant and the 20MW Tanawon Geothermal Power Plant will be online by 2024.

There is also a total of 381 MW of additional capacity from projects that are undergoing pre-feasibility studies.