EDC to generate yearly revenue of P1B from geothermal plant

Energy Development Corp., the country’s largest producer of geothermal energy, expects to generate as much as P1 billion in yearly revenue once a 20-megawatt geothermal facility in Southern Negros starts commercial operations next year.

The units to be used for the Nasulo geothermal facility—which will be put up within the existing Southern Negros geothermal site in Valencia, Negros Oriental—will be coming from the 49-megawatt Northern Negros geothermal plant (NNGP) in Negros Occidental.

The NNGP is being dismantled this year.

EDC president and COO Richard B. Tantoco confirmed that the company is on track to completing the transfer of the geothermal facilities within the third quarter of 2014. This will then contribute roughly P400 million to P500 million in revenue to EDC for 2014 alone.

The transfer of these geothermal facilities meanwhile is expected to cost EDC some $68 million (or roughly P2.79 billion), according to Erwin O. Avante, VP for corporate finance at EDC.

In 2011, the NNGP was shut down because the steam resources within the Northern Negros geothermal concession area can only generate about 5 to 10 MW, much lower than the 49-MW facility available in the area. The shutdown however resulted in a P5-billion impairment loss for EDC that same year.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, EDC awarded the contract to Sumitomo for the transfer of the 49-MW NNGP to Southern Negros in Valencia, Negros Oriental. The Nasulo geothermal concession area was earlier reported to have enough steam resources to generate 45 MW.

Meanwhile, NNGP will install on the original site a smaller facility suited to the existing reserves in the concession area.