EDC's 123-MW Tongonan geothermal facility in Leyte and its 112.5MW Palinipinon-1 geothermal facility in Negros Oriental have been supplying reliable 24/7 clean power to the Luzon and Visayas region for almost 40 years
EDC plays a major role in fulfilling the country's commitment to the Paris Agreement of decarbonizing the energy sector.
Being a full RE company, EDC's arsenal boasts of a handful of solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal power facilities. In particular, its geothermal or Geo 24/7 facilities, places the country as the third-largest geothermal power producer in the world.
"Being a reliable 24/7 source of clean, renewable energy that has minimal carbon emissions makes geothermal definitely better than non-RE sources of power. Moreover, geothermal energy is indigenous and is not susceptible to external fluctuations in fuel supply and prices. The Philippines has been blessed with abundant geothermal resources, which EDC has been harnessing for 45 years now," EDC CSR-Public Relations head Allan V. Barcena said.
EDC owns and operates 10 out of the 12 geothermal steamfields in the country that are located in Leyte, Bicol, Negros Island, and North Cotabato. The steamfields located in Tiwi, Albay, and Laguna are being operated by other energy players.
In particular, the Visayas region is home to the country's two largest 24/7 geothermal facilities, which are EDC's Leyte and Negros geothermal sites. Both facilities located in Ormoc and Kananga, Leyte and in Valencia, Negros Oriental have been providing clean, renewable, reliable power 24/7 to the Luzon and Visayas region for almost 38 years.
The company piloted its first geothermal project the three-megawatt (MW) Tongonan power plant in Leyte which generated electricity for Ormoc, Leyte in 1977.
To allow continued supply of green energy to customers, EDC conducts various programs and measures to maintain the performance of geothermal facilities at optimal levels to provide sustainable power to customers.
"Geothermal energy can be sustained indefinitely given two conditions: first is the prudent management of the resource and second, the protection of the watershed, which is the source of replenishment of the resource. This is shown by our steamfields and power plants that have already been operating for 45 years - and can continue to produce energy for years to come," Barcena said.
EDC has recently tapped California-based solutions provider GreenFire Energy Inc. to revive idle and unproductive geothermal wells to raise power generation, starting with the Mahanagdong geothermal plant in Leyte. This will allow the company to provide more clean and reliable power to its growing number of customers within its existing facilities.
Another critical component of geothermal plants is that it comes hand in hand with lush forests which recharge the geothermal reservoir.
"By maintaining and even regenerating our forests, we ensure the longevity of our geothermal reservoirs. EDC has been sustaining its Geo 24/7 for over 45 years by planting, growing, and maintaining lush forests in its geothermal watersheds, which comprise about one percent of the country's total land area," Barcena said.
In EDC's first three decades of operation, this was done mostly through its social forestry program, which incentivized the farmers' associations for helping the company's dedicated Watershed Management Teams manage the forests in its geothermal areas.
In 2008, through the initiative of its Chairman Emeritus Oscar M. Lopez, EDC commenced its BINHI greening legacy program to elevate how it cares for the environment by not only bridging forest gaps in its areas of operation but by also bringing back to abundance 96 of our threatened Philippine native tree species. To date, the company has already reforested close to 10,000 hectares in its geothermal areas, with over six million BINHI seedlings planted.
Its entire operation emits only a little over 966,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) while the forest stands under its care absorb far more with over 1.7 million tCO2e each year, making EDC a carbon negative company- probably the only one in this country where most businesses are just beginning to implement sustainable and low carbon practices.
