Filipino-American Luis P. Salaveria (third from left), the visiting head of the State of Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, shakes hands with Manuel S. Ogena, senior vice president and head of the Geosciences and Reservoir Engineering Group of Energy Development Corporation (EDC), during a meeting in Manila. Salaveria visited the Philippines and met EDC's top officials and geothermal experts to learn how Hawaii can incorporate geothermal power to reduce the state's dependency on fossil fuels and increase efficiency measures. The Filipino-Hawaiian government official said EDC "could be a possible partner of Hawaii in a future cooperation agreement". Also in photo are (from left) Ricky Carandang, EDC vice president; and Joaquin E. Quintos IV, a member of EDC's board of directors.
The State of Hawaii is exploring a possible collaboration with Lopez-led Energy Development Corporation (EDC) as part of Hawaii's bold energy agenda to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by the year 2045.
Luis P. Salaveria, a Filipino-American government official, who is the Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), visited the Philippines May 14 to 18, 2016, to learn how Hawaii can incorporate geothermal power to reduce the state's dependency on fossil fuels and increase efficiency measures.
DBEDT is a state department in the executive branch, which falls under the Office of the Governor. The department oversees the Hawaii State Energy Office, which has embarked on a strategic plan to position Hawaii as a proving ground for clean energy technologies.
Salaveria initiated the trip to gather information to support the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI), which is a partnership between the State of Hawaii and the U.S. Department of Energy that launched in 2008. In 2015, Hawaii passed landmark legislation to make Hawaii the first state in the nation to set a 100 percent renewable portfolio standard for the electricity sector.
At present, imported oil provides 90 percent of Hawaii's energy needs.
During his Manila visit, Salaveria held a series of meetings with geothermal experts and top officials of EDC, which is acknowledged as a global leader in geothermal energy.
"As one of the biggest geothermal companies in the world, EDC could be a possible partner of Hawaii in a future cooperation agreement," Salavaria said. "Hawaii is especially interested in gaining a deeper understanding about geothermal energy and how this renewable energy (RE) source can help in achieving HCEI's goal."
EDC owns and operates 12 integrated geothermal power projects with an installed geothermal capacity of 1,169 megawatts. EDC plans to pursue projects overseas, including opportunities in Latin America and Indonesia.
Hawaii currently maintains a 38-MW geothermal production capacity. Studies indicate that Hawaii may hold more than 1,000 MW of geothermal reserves on Maui and Hawaii islands, two of the eight main islands of the State of Hawaii.
While Hawaii has other RE options, such as wind and solar, these RE sources are intermittent and cannot be used to run base-load power plants. Given its vast potential, Hawaii considers geothermal a natural RE option to run more base-load power plants in the future.
"Hawaii's current dependence on oil threatens our natural resources, and places economic security at risk," added Salaveria. "We are looking to diversify our energy portfolio to meet the goal of 100 percent renewables by 2045."
EDC is a subsidiary of First Gen Corporation, the Philippines' leading clean and renewable energy company with an installed capacity of 2,959 MW at the end of 2015. Aside from geothermal, First Gen's portfolio of power plants also runs on natural gas, hydro, wind and solar.
