The 20-megawatt Maibarara integrated geothermal power facility is all set for an initial expansion of 10 megawatts (MW) to maximize its energy resource and address higher customer demand.
“Everything is being put in place,” Department of Energy director Mario Marasigan said.
The project company Maibarara Geothermal Inc. (MGI) has started assessing whether it can use an existing steam well or will have to drill a new one, he said.
Even during construction of the first 20 MW, there were already signs that the steam could generate higher capacity, Marasigan said.
“It seemed the steam was full to bursting, as if it were eager to break free,” he said, “So now they want an expansion.”
The expansion unit may operate in about two years, Marasigan said.
PetroEnergy Resources Corp., which leads the project vehicle MGI, told the Inquirer that the company was considering expanding the project in two phases of 10 MW each.
The capital expenditure for the first expansion is about $25 million, PetroEnergy vice president Francisco G. Delfin Jr. said in an interview.
PetroEnergy Resources president Milagros V. Reyes said that after the 10-MW expansion, another 10 MW of capacity may be added.
The existing 20-MW integrated steamfield-power plant facility in Sto. Tomas, Batangas entailed an investment of $78 million.
The 20-MW Maibarara geothermal power station started commercial operation on Feb. 8, 2014.
It is the first geothermal power plant to be completed under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.
MGI is majority owned by PetroEnergy unit PetroGreen Energy Corp. (65 percent), Trans-Asia (25 percent), and PNOC Renewables (10 percent), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co.
Besides the Maibarara project, PetroEnergy is embarking on another renewable energy project: The 50-MW Nabas wind power station in Aklan, also through PetroGreen Energy.
The first 36-MW phase should be completed in 2015, Reyes said.
Work on service contracts here and abroad are also underway, Reyes said. Overseas, PetroEnergy is expanding drilling at its Gabon-Etame oil concession in Africa.