The Philippines emerging as No. 1 geothermal producer

The Philippines, through the Department of Energy (DOE), has recently awarded three geothermal service contracts to Guidance Management Corporation (GMC), Biliran Geothermal Inc. (BGI), and Basic Energy Corporation (BEC) to explore and develop the geothermal sites in Amacan, Biliran and Mabini, respectively. It is estimated that the deals, which are expected to produce as much as 120 megawatts in additional capacity, could raise up to US$900-million worth of investments in the next 25 years. That figures could bring the country to the verge of becoming the top producer of geothermal energy in the world. The Philippines is presently ranked second to the United States in terms of geothermal energy output. According to the DOE, the country will need only 70 megawatts more to overtake the leader. Currently, generation from geothermal facilities in the country totals 1,978 megawatts. Among renewable energy sources, geothermal is one of the most competitive in terms of generation cost, which could be developed at a unit cost of US$0.064 (Php2.88) as compared to oil's US$0.078 (Php3.51), solar's US$0.043 (Php1.935), and nuclear's US$0.030 (Php1.35). The Philippine government is expecting that exploration would commence by August of this year.