EDC’s P7-B Palayan plant augments grid 

Manito, Albay — The Luzon grid’s baseload power supply capacity has received a significant boost with the 28.9-megawatt (MW) Palayan Binary Geothermal Power Plant (PBGPP) operated by the Lopez-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC).

“Every megawatt of additional power that enters the grid is crucial,” Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla said during the ceremonial switching on of the facility here on Friday. 

“The projected power that the Palayan Bayan binary power plant will generate each year will not only contribute to our energy security agenda but also our important contribution toward the cleaner energy transition goals,” he added.

PBGPP, with a gross annual generation projected at 253,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) and a net annual generation of 219,800 MWh, was synchronized at the Luzon grid in January. 

The power plant is poised to reduce the country’s carbon emissions by an estimated 72,200 tons yearly.

Brine-powered

The P7-billion project operated by BacMan Geothermal Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of EDC, uses the thermal energy of brine, a by-product from its 120-MW Palayan Bayan 1 flash geothermal power plant, to generate electricity without additional steam. 

It employs a zero-discharge system that ensures brine and other fluids are efficiently re-injected into the reservoir, minimizing environmental impact.

PBGPP was granted a Certificate of Energy Project of National Significance by the Department of Energy in November 2020.

It is one of four geothermal growth projects with a combined capacity of 83 MW that the company started during the pandemic. 

The other facilities were the 28-MW Mahanagdong Binary in Leyte, 20-MW Tanawon Binary also in BacMan, and the 5.6-MW Bago Binary in Negros Occidental. 

EDC operates a network of over 1,464.5 MW, which takes up almost 20 percent of the country’s total installed renewable energy capacity. 

The company’s portfolio accounts for 80 percent of the entire geothermal capacity nationwide, putting the Philippines on the map as the third largest geothermal producer in the world.