The Lopez-led ThermaPrime Drilling Corp. has acquired three more rigs from the United States and the United Arab Emirates to support the P30-billion geothermal expansion of its affiliate, Energy Development Corp. (EDC).

The company announced on Wednesday that two of the new drilling rigs have a 1,500 horsepower (hp) capacity, while the third has 1,000 hp.

ThermaPrime stated that acquiring these three additional drilling rigs complements its two existing 2,000-hp rigs, enhancing its support for EDC’s project to develop more geothermal wells.

EDC plans to drill 40 new geothermal wells at various sites in Albay, Sorsogon, Leyte, Negros, and Davao for its parent company, First Gen Corp. (First Gen). This drilling initiative is part of First Gen’s broader program to expand its renewable energy capacity by over 7,000 megawatts by 2030.

ThermaPrime and First Gen are subsidiaries of Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH).

Since 2011, ThermaPrime has completed over 200 geothermal drilling projects.

First Gen, in turn, has a portfolio that includes 26 hydro, wind, solar, and geothermal power facilities with a total renewable energy capacity of over 1,650 MW.

Last year, First Gen’s clean energy portfolio generated 8,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity, primarily from its geothermal units.