Energy Development Corp., or EDC, the renewable energy subsidiary of Lopez-led First Gen Corp., is investing roughly P60 billion over the next three years to drill 40 new wells to sustain existing operations and stabilize its geothermal capacity.
Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of the Net-Zero Carbon Alliance or NZCA Conference on Monday, EDC vice chairman and CEO Francis Giles B. Puno said the planned drilling will be done across the Visayas and Mindanao areas.
“A lot of it will be in Leyte and also in the Mt. Apo area — all of that will help to sustain EDC’s operations.
Geothermal plants are a 24-hour baseload source of renewable energy. Having said that, over the next three years, we’re in a campaign to make sure that it’s sustainable; we need to make sure that we can continue to extract sustainable steam from the ground,” Puno told reporters.
Puno said EDC will bankroll the capital-extensive plan through internally generated funds, which will be done in phases.
Of the total P60 billion required budget, half will be allocated for drilling operations, while the other half will be used to finish the steam extraction.
Net-zero pact
EDC is at the forefront of ushering in a consortium of Philippine enterprises to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The EDC’s NZCA Conference on Monday, for instance, discussed challenges and opportunities for local corporations on a net-zero journey, including solutions for hard-to-abate sectors.
According to a report released by a group in June, nearly half of the world’s 2,000 biggest publicly listed companies have committed to a net-zero strategy.
However, the report highlighted that a number of these companies fail to account for emissions generated by their supply chains or depend on unreliable methods to offset their carbon production.
EDC is First Gen’s fully renewable energy subsidiary that has over 1,480 MW total installed capacity — accounting for 20 percent of the country’s total installed renewable energy capacity.
Its 1,185.40-MW geothermal portfolio accounts for 62 percent of the country’s total installed geothermal capacity, making the Philippines the third largest geothermal producer in the world.