ProceedingsWorldGeothermalCongress2005
Antalya,Turkey,2429April2005
GeothermalEnergyDevelopmentinthePhilippines:CountryUpdate
FranciscoA.Benito1,ManuelS.Ogena2andJamesA.Stimac3
1
DepartmentofEnergy,EnergyCenter,MerrittRoad,FortBonifacio,Taguig,MetroManila,Philippines1201
2
PNOCEnergyDevelopmentCorporation,EnergyCenter,MerrittRoad,FortBonifacio,Taguig,MetroManila,
3 th
PhilippineGeothermal,Inc.,12 FloorCitibankTower,8741PaseodeRoxas,MakatiCity,Philippines1226
fbenito@doe.gov.ph;franzbenito@yahoo.com
Keywords: ThePhilippines,installedgeneratingcapacity, topping
cycle plant, bottoming cycle plant, MakBan, Tiwi, Bacman,
Tongonan,Palinpinon,Mt.Apo.
ABSTRACT
The Philippines is the worlds second largest producer of
geothermalenergyforpowergeneration.Asofend2003,thetotal
installed generating capacity from geothermal power plants was
1,931 MW, accounting for about 19% of the countrys power
generationmix.
The Government has set a renewable energy target, dubbed
100in10,thataimstodoublethecurrentinstalledgenerating
capacityfromrenewableenergysourcesinthenexttenyears.
Geothermalenergywillbeamajorcontributortotheattainment
ofthistarget,asthecountryalsoaimstobecometheworlds
largestgeothermalenergyproducer,havingprovengeothermal
asareliableandcleansourceofenergyforthepast30years.
1.INTRODUCTION
As of December 2003, the Philippine Government through the
DepartmentofEnergy(DOE)continuetoadministertheoperations
of nine (9) geothermal service contract areas. Of these contract
areas,six(6)areproducingfieldsandthree
(3) are in advanced exploration stage (Figure 1). Two of the
contracts are operated by Philippine Geothermal, Incorporated
(PGI), a subsidiary of the Union Oil of California (UNOCAL),
while the rest are managed by the governmentowned and
controlledPhilippineNationalOilCompanyEnergyDevelopment
Corporation(PNOCEDC).
ThePhilippinestotalinstalledgeneratingcapacityfromgeothermal
power plants stood at 1,931 MWe and is about 12.7% of the
countrystotalcapacityof15,132MWe(Table1).Thecountryhas
likewise maintained its position as the world's second largest
producerof geothermalenergyfor power generation.The largest
geothermal installation is located in Tongonan, Leyte with an
aggregate capacity of 722.68MWe or 37% of the totalinstalled
geothermalcapacity.Intermsofactualproduction,thecontribution
ofgeothermalenergytothecountrystotalpowergenerationmix
hasdecreasedfrom21.52%in1998to19.1%in2003(Figure2)due
to the commissioning between 20002001 of about 2,760 MWe
naturalgaspowerplants.
The onset of the 1997 Asian financial crisis slowed down the
growth of the countrys economy, thereby reducing electricity
demand because the projected industrial activities, with its
corresponding electricity requirement did not materialize (Perez,
2004). This economic slow down was aggravated further by the
9/11incidentintheU.S.in2001
Philippines1201
anddampenedinvestorsinterestinthecountry.Thus,only22
MWewasaddedtothetotalinstalledcapacityfromgeothermal
powerplantssince1998andatotalof28wellswithtotaldepth
of63.1kms.drilledbetween20002003(Table2).
To date, since production began in 1977, the cumulative
electricity generation from geothermal energy totals 152,336
gigawatthour(GWh)from100,602GWhin1998oranincrease
of51.4%(Table1).Theelectricitygeneratedisabout262.65
million barrels of fuel oil equivalent (MMBFOE), which
translatestoaboutUS$5.57Billionintermsofforeignexchange
(forex)savings(DepartmentofEnergy,2003).
2.GEOTHERMALRESOURCESANDPOTENTIAL
Thegeologic settingof thePhilippine archipelagoandindividual
Philippine geothermal systems was described and extensively
discussedinSussmanetal.(1993).Theservicecontractareasthat
areeithercurrentlyproducing,orlikelytobedevelopedinthenext
decadearediscussedbelowwhichisessentiallyanupdateofthe
country paper presented by Karunungan et al. (2000) in the last
WorldGeothermalCongressheldinJapanin2000.
2.1Tiwi,Albay
TheTiwifieldislocatedabout300kmsoutheastofManilainthe
AlbayProvinceofLuzonIslandandoperatedbyPGI(Figure1).
Throughoutmuchofthepastfiveyears,productionintheTiwifield
hasbeenlimitedbytheavailabilityofagingpowerplantstations.
Thecapacityofthefieldwasalsoderatedfrom330MWto275MW
withtheshutdownofUnit4asofDecember2001(Table3).
RehabilitationofPlantsA(Units1and2)andC(Units5and6)
commencedin2003,andshouldbecompletedin2005.Aspart
ofthis rehabilitation, theratedcapacities of theunits willbe
increasedto59MWforUnits1and2and57MWforUnits5
and6.Bylate2005,itisthereforeexpectedthatTiwiwillbe
operatingat232MWcapacity.Unit3willcontinueoperation
withoutrehabilitation,inastandbymode.Duringtheperiodof
relativelylowplantavailabilitythathasoccurredfrom1996to
2005, reservoir pressures and fluid levels have recovered
significantly,especiallyintheNaglagbongandKapipihanareas
(Protacio et al., 2001), and this also helped to stabilize the
overallsteamproductioncapabilityofthefield.However,since
nonewwellshavebeendrilledinTiwisince1997,somesteam
development projects were required to meet the anticipated
steamneedsoftherehabilitatedunits(estimatedat4,400kphat
thewellhead).
1
Benitoetal.

Figure1:Philippinegeothermalservicecontractareas

Table1:Philippinegeothermalindustryperformance

2
 Benitoetal.

2004).Geochemicalstudieshavehelpedidentifythemajoravenues
of dilute (1400 ppm Cl) but relatively hot recharge to the main
Oil based productionzone,andattemptedtoquantifythe
11.20% Natural Gas

Hydro 25.80%
15.30% relativelyminorimpactonfieldcooling(Abrigoetal.,2004).Mak
Banhasbeencomparativelyfreeofresourceproblems,asidefrom
injection breakthrough in the early years of operation (e.g., Sta.
Mariaetal.,1995).Thisproblemwasresolvedbymovingthelarge
edgefield injection load of that area further to the west. Recent
tracertestsusingthermallystablenaphthalenesulfonates(Roseet
al., 2002) have shown that the present injection system now
Coal Geothermal providesrelativelylittlerechargetotheproductionarea.
19.10%
28.60%
Asoflate2003,71productionwellsand15injectionwellswere
in service. PGIs resource strategy is focused on upgrading
steam supply to match the requirements of the power plants
oncetheongoingrehabilitationiscompletedtowardtheendof
Figure2.Powergenerationmix,2003 2005.Newsteamwellsarebeingtargetedinthedeeperportions
oftheresourcetotaphotter,higherpressureconditionsandto
betterensurethefieldslongtermsustainability.MakBangross
Theseeffortsincludedworkoversofanumberofexistingwellsin generationrangedfrom2248GWh in 2001to1657GWhin
2003and2004,involvingcleaningofsilicascalefromwellbores 2003(Table4).Thedecliningtrendwasduemainlytolimited
and, in some cases, perforation of identified production zones. governmentinvestmentinmakeupdrillinganddecliningplant
Upgradesofthesteamgatheringsystemwerealsomadetoimprove availability. Further production declines in 2004 were due to
system efficiency, flexibility, and reliability. These upgrades ongoingplantrehabilitationefforts.Makeupdrillingresumed
included construction of new steam gathering and separation in2002and2003with6newwellsaddedtothefield.Allof
facilities employing cascading brine scrubbing and hot brine thesewellsweredrilledto>2800metersverticaldepthinorder
injectionlinesontheMatalibongRidge,andupgradesofexisting totapthedeep,highpressurereservoir.In2004anadditional4
to6wellswillbedrilledtoreachthesteamsupplyrequirement.
separatorsatwellsites1,3,5,6,and7a(KitzandToreja,2002). Commissioning of several idle wells near the margin of the
Injection capacity in the southeast portion of the field was also currentproductionareaastrickleinjectorswillbeusedasa
increased through construction of additional injection lines, lowcostmethodtomeettheincreasedreinjectionrequirement
commissioning of idle edgefield wells as injectors, and scale ofthefield.
cleanoutsofexistinginjectionwells.
RehabilitationofPlantsAandB(Units1through4)commencedin
Since1979uptoend2002,Tiwigeothermalfieldhasgenerated 2004 and should be complete by late 2005. As part of this
atotalof39,179GWhofelectricity(Table4).Inthattime,the rehabilitation, the rated capacities of Units 1 through 4 will be
field has experienced many problems common to geothermal increasedto63MWeach.WithUnits5and6(55MWeach)and
reservoirs (i.e., cold water influx, corrosion, scaling, HCl Units9and10(20MWeach),itisexpectedthatMakBanwillthen
corrosion,etc.).PGI,incooperationwiththestateowedNational beoperatingatafullplantbaseloadof402MW.
PowerCorporation(NAPOCOR),hasrespondedtoandlargely
overcometheseproblems(Sussmanetal.,1993;Sugiamanetal.,
2004).Despitethesechallenges,afinancialstudyconductedby
ELCElectroconsult for the Asian Development Bank showed Table2.Geothermalwellsdrilledfrom20002003
thatthenetcashflowsincludingavoidedoilcosthadpaidforthe
project investments by 1986. As of late 2003, 48 production
wells and 16 injection wells were in service, with production
comingmainlyintheKapipihan,MatalibongandBariisareas.
Sinceexpansionpossibilitiesarelimited,PGIsresourcestrategy
isfocusedonmaximizingtheexistinggenerationpotentialofthe
field and ensuring its longterm sustainability. Pilot tests of
infieldinjectionintothesuperheatedMatalibongsteamzone,and
downhole neutralization of acidsulfate fluids in well Bariis8
(Gardneretal.,2001)haveindicatedpotentialforaugmenting
steamproductionwithoutdrillingnewwells.
2.2MakilingBanahaw(MakBan),Laguna
TheMakBanfieldislocatedabout70kmsouthofManilainthe
Laguna Province of Luzon Island and is also operated by PGI
(Figure 1). It is a mature geothermal field having been in
commercialproduction since 1979. Although currently second in
thePhilippinestotheGreaterTongonanfieldintermsofinstalled
capacity, MakBan leads all Philippine fields in terms of total
lifetimegenerationwithmorethan51,455GWh(Table4).

Recentresourcesummariesofthisprolificresourcestressitsrelatively
2
smallsize(about7km );however,highporosity(averageofmorethan
o
10%),andhighresourcetemperatures(upto640 F)arefactorsthathave
allowedthefieldtobesuccessfullyproducedatahighpowerdensity
(Gollaetal.,2001).Akeyfactorinsustainingproductionissignificant
rechargefromtherelativelylowerpermeabilityregionssurroundingthe
mainproductionarea(Nordquistetal.,
2.3Tongonan,Leyte
The total installed capacity of the Leyte geothermal field which is
operatedbyPNOCEDCstandsat722.68MWe(Table3).Thisisbroken
downasfollows:
3
Benitoetal.
112.5MWeTongonanIpowerplantsareoperatedby
NAPOCOR;
219.48MWeTongonanIIBOTpowerplantsarecomposedof
the 141.98MWe Upper Mahiao Binary and the 77.5MWe
Malitbogpowerplants;and
390.70MWe Tongonan III BOT power plants which come
fromthe3x6.5MWeTongonanIToppingCycle,2x6.50
MWe Mahanagdong A Topping Cycle, 1 x 6.50MWe
MahanagdongBToppingCycle,1x
16.70MWe Malitbog Bottoming Cycle, 3 x 60MWe
Mahanagdong A&B and the 2 x 77.5MWe Malitbog power
plants.
ToppingcycleplantsareinstalledinTongonanI,Mahanagdong
AandMahanagdongBSectors,whilebottomingcycleinthe
Malitbog Sector. Tongonan II power plants commissioned in
1996 export electricity from Leyte to Cebu via an AC
submarine cable, while Tongonan III commissioned in 1997
transportspowerfromLeytetoLuzonviaDCsubmarinecable.
ThepowerplantsinLeytehavebeeninfulloperationsinceMay
1998. Consequently, Tongonan's electricity gross generation of
3,111.98GWhin1998escalatedbyasmuchas200%asagainstthe
previous years 998.36 GWh. As of December 2003, Tongonan
powerplantshavegeneratedacumulativetotalof35,223.3GWhof
electricity.Grossgenerationfor2003of4,745.6GWhwasslightly
lower(by300GWh)thantheyearpreviousbecauseofminorfluid
andoperational problems encountered,but these have been dealt
with accordingly (Table 4). All ongoing activities in Leyte are
geared towards sustaining the steam supply for the power plant
requirements. These activities include drilling of makeup and
replacementwells,workingoveroldwellswithreducedoutputsand
injectioncapacities,anddealingwithcorrosion,erosionandmineral
scalingproblems.
2.4Palinpinon,SouthernNegros
ThePalinpinongeothermalfield,whichisalsooperatedbyPNOC
EDC, is locatedin SouthernNegros onthe southern flanks of a
youngvolcaniccomplex.Atotalof43productionand26reinjection
wellshavebeendrilledinthefield.Powerplantswithacombined
capacityof192.5MWeareinstalledinPalinpinon.InPalinpinonI
(Puhagan),theinstalledcapacityis112.5MWe,andtheplantshave
beeninoperationsince1983.PalinpinonIIisdividedintothree(3)
modularpowerplants(Table3):Balasbalas(20MWe),Nasuji(20
MWe) and Sogongon (40 MWe). As of December 2003, all the
aboveplantshavegeneratedacumulativetotal16,244.8GWhof
electricity(Table4).
Power plant related problems have been encountered in the
PalinpinonI units, causing prolonged shutdowns and reduced
loads.Todate,however,allunitsarefullyoperational.
Plans are underway to expand the capacity of PalinpinonII by
addinganother20MWepowerplant.Idleandthrottledproduction
wellsfromtheNasujisectorwillbeutilizedandoptimizedforthe
additionalplant.PNOCEDCisintheprocessofdischargingstand
bywellsandconstructingnewproductionandinjectionpadsforthe
expansionproject.Targetcommissioningyearofthisplanned20
MWepowerplantis2006.
2.5BaconManito(Bacman),Albay/Sorsogon
The BaconManito Geothermal Production Field (BGPF) is also
operatedbyPNOCEDCandislocatedintheprovincesofSorsogon
and Albay in the Bicol Peninsula (Figure 1). A first stage
geothermalpowerplantdevelopmentof110
MWe in the Palayang Bayan sector (Bacman I) was
commissioned in 1993. In 1994, a 20MWe extension in the
Cawayansector(BacmanII)wascommissionedfollowedbythe
additional 20MWe in the Botong sector, which was
commissionedinMay1998.Todate,atotalof24production
and 12 reinjection wells have been drilled in Bacman. As of
December2003,thepowerplantshavedeliveredacumulative
total of 5,939.2 GWh of electricity (Table 4). A number of
mechanicalandotherproblemsrelatedtothepowergenerating
turbines have plagued the BacmanI power plant for several
yearsnow.Mostofthetime,BacmanIwasrunwithonlyone
(1)unitoperating,thusthelowelectricityoutputofthepower
plant. On the other hand, power plant operations in both
CawayanandBotongsectorshavebeenrelativelysmooth,and
steadilysupplypowertotheLuzongrid.
OperationoftheManitoLivelihoodGeothermalProjectinaugurated
in1998,hasbeensuspendedbyPNOCEDC.TheProjectisajoint
undertaking by the DOE, National Power Corporation (NPC),
NationalElectrificationAdministration(NEA),PNOCEDCandthe
LocalGovernmentofManito.ItislocatedatPawa,Manito,Albay
withintheBaconManitoGeothermalPowerProject.Thedropin
marketdemandaswellasmajorturbineproblemshavecausedthe
shelvingofthelivelihoodproject.
2.6Mindanao,NorthCotabato/Davao
Thecountry'ssixthgeothermalproductionfield,theMindanao
field, is also operated by PNOCEDC. It is located on the
northwestslopesofMt.ApointhenorthernpartofCotabato
andDavaoprovinces(Figure1).Itismadeupoftwopower
plants MindanaoI commissioned in 1996with an installed
capacityof54.24MWe,andMindanaoIIputonlinein1999
with the same installed capacity of 54.24MWe. As of
December 2003, total accumulated generation of both plants
was4,493.7GWhofelectricity(Table4).
Existing idle production wells are planned to be used for an
expansionprojectbeyondtheexistingMindanaoIandIIpower
plants.Intheeventthatthisprojectisrealized,Mindanaowill
havemorethanenoughsteamtosupplyanother20MWeplant.
2.7OtherAreas
2.7.1NorthernNegros,NegrosOccidental(PNOCEDC)
TheNorthernNegrosGeothermalProjectcoversanareaof4,310.84
hectares situated in Mambucal, Negros Occidental Island in the
Visayas Region. A projected 40 MWe of geothermal capacity is
expectedtobecommissionedin2006.Todate,atotaloften(10)
exploratorywellshavebeendrilledinNorthernNegrosbyPNOC
EDC. Current activities in this field are fluid collection and
reinjectionsystem(FCRS)andpowerplantconstruction.
2.7.2PalinpinonIIOptimization(PNOCEDC)
As mentioned earlier, construction activities for the 20MWe
PalinpinonIIoptimizationprojectwillbeunderwaybylate2004.
ThenewplantwillutilizeexcesssteamfromexistingNasujiwells,
andseparatedbrinewillbepipedtothecurrentNasujiRIsink.No
newwelldrillingisprogrammedfortheexpansion.LikeinNorthern
Negros,commissioningdateisearly2006.
4

3.EXPLORATIONANDDEVELOPMENT
The countrys geothermal resource potential from 35 identified
areasisestimatedat4,335MW.Giventhisvastamountofpotential
reserves and the anticipated increase in energy demand, the
Philippines has embarked on aggressive exploration activities to
bring the total geothermal capacity to at least 3,131 MW and
become the largest geothermal energy producer in the world in
2013.
Aspartof itsRenewable EnergyPolicyFramework(REPF), the
PhilippineDepartmentofEnergyhasundertakeninMarchtoJuly
2004,thesocalledPhilippine "GEOTHERMAL1",acontracting
roundaimedatattractinginvestmentsin10prospectivegeothermal
areas
Table3.Utilizationofgeothermalenergyforelectricpowergeneration.
Benitoetal.
(Figure3).Thetechnicaldetailsoftheprospectiveareasandthe
contracting round activity are described in the Geothermal
Contracting Round1 Brochure published by the Department of
Energy(2004).Shortdescriptionoftheseprospectiveareasareas
follows:
3.1ManitoKayabon,Albay/Sorsogon
The ManitoKayabon is a sector of BGPF located in the Bicol
Peninsula. BGPF is currently producing 110 MWe from its
Palayang Bayan sector (Bacman1) and 20 MWe each from its
Cawayan and Botong sectors. The ManitoKayabon sector is the
northernmost cluster of resource blocks in BGPF. Stored heat
calculationsofthissectorpointtoatotalpowerpotentialof51.2
MWe.
5
Benitoetal.
Table4.GeothermalenergygrossgenerationinGWh

Figure3.Prospectivegeothermalareasofferedforprivatesectorinvestment

6

3.2TanawonRangas,Albay/Sorsogon
TheTanawonRangasisanothersectoroftheBGPF.Basedon
thereservoirmodeloftheBGPF,TanawonandRangassectors
areconsideredwellwithinthesouthernboundaryoftheBGPFs
main upflow region. Twodeviatedwells drilledinTanawon,
TW1DandTW2Dinyear2000yieldedpowerpotentialsof
8.9MWeand3.4MWe,respectively,foratotalof12.3MWe.
Potential geothermal reserve estimates indicate a total power
potentialofabout22.4MWeand23.5MWeforTanawonand
Rangas,respectively.
3.3 Mindanao Geothermal Production
Optimization,NorthCotabato
TheMindanaoGeothermalProductionField(MGPF)whichis
foundon the northwest flankof Mt. Apo, North Cotabatois
dividedinto3sectorsfromsoutheasttonortheastSandawa,
MarbelandMatingao.Inviewofthecurrentexcesssteamand
brineinMGPF,anoptimizationplanwasconceptualizedand
results of the study dictate that additional power generation
facilitiesofatleast20MWecouldberealized.
3.4Mt.Cabalian,SouthernLeyte
Drilling of the second exploratory well in Mt. Cabalian,
SouthernLeytewasdonein2003.Thewellwasspuddedfroma
newpadanddeviatedtotheNNEtotesttheresistivityanomaly
definedbythemagnetotelluricsurveyconductedearlier.Two
(2)permeablezoneswereintersectedbythewellintheopen
holesection;thelowerfeedzonehasanestimatedtemperature
ofabout280C.Duringflowtest,however,thehotterzonedid
not appear to contribute to the fluid discharge. Instead, fluid
temperaturewasalmostconstantat245250Creflectiveofthe
temperatureintheupperhorizon(BayonandSanchez,2004).
The second exploratory well confirmed the presence of an
exploitablegeothermalsysteminMt.Cabalian.Futureplansforthe
areaincludeacidizingandredischargingwellSL2D,anddrillinga
third exploratory well to target the center of the geophysical
anomaly.
3.5BiliranIsland
GeothermalexplorationinBiliranstartedin1979upto1981.Three
prospectivetargetsweredelineated,namely,Vulcan,Kalambisand
Panamaoareas.In1982,threeexplorationwells(BN1,BN2and
BN3)weredrilledtotestthegeothermalpotentialofVulcanarea.
Results of exploration drilling indicated that the geothermal
2
resourceareainBiliranrangesfrom14to16km .Theheatsource
isamagmaticbodybeneaththe VulcanLibtongareawhereacid
o
fluids with temperature of 332 C are presently upflowing as
intersectedbywell BN3.WellsBN1andBN2establishedthe
presenceofneutralchloridebrineatexploitabledepths.
3.6Amacan,Compostela
The Amacan prospect is characterized by impressive thermal
features including fumaroles, solfatara and hot springs that are
widely distributed. Significant data had been gathered in the
Amacan geothermal prospect from 1975 to 1985. The deep
exploratory well (AM1) in Amacan encountered measured
o Actof1997promotes,protectsandrecognizestherightsof
temperatureof265 Cat2700mdepthbutwithlowpermeability.
Theareaswiththelargestpotentialforgeothermaldevelopmentare
locatedaroundUgosDome,AmacanandGopodNorthSolfataras.
Benitoetal.
3.7Dauin,SouthernNegros
The Dauin geothermal prospect is situated about 6 kms
southeastoftheSouthernNegrosGeothermalProductionField
(SNGPF).Between1973and1981,surfaceexplorationsurveys
were conducted in Dauin. As a result of these surveys, two
exploration wells (DN1 and DN2) were drilled in 198283.
Based on available technical data, a geothermal convective
systemispostulatedinDauinareawhichisdistinctfromthe
brinesysteminPalinpinon.TheupflowinDauinprobablylies
beneath the center of the MT anomaly located between Mt.
TalinesandCuernosdeNegros.
Field 3.8Natib,Bataan
Surface geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys at the
NatibgeothermalprospectinBataanwerecompletedin1987.Two
deepexploratorywellsNA1DandNA2Dweredrilledin1989.
WellsNA1DandNA2Dencounteredareservoirtemperatureof
o
270 Catdepthsof2751mand2916m,respectively,basedon
alterationmineralogy.Whilebothwellshavelowpermeabilityto
sustaincommercialdischarge,thehottestportionofthegeothermal
system which is in between Natib dome andthe Tigulangin and
Mamotspringsshowgreatpotentials.
3.9Mabini,Batangas
The Commission on Volcanology (COMVOL) initiated the
detailed geoscientific investigation of the Mabini geothermal
prospectinthelate1970s.SucceedingsurveysledbyPNOC
EDC commenced in the 1980s. Based on PNOCEDCs
assessment,Mabiniisanintermediatetemperaturegeothermal o
resourcewithreservoirtemperatureofatleast180 C.Itwas
postulatedthattheupflowingneutralpHalkalichloridefluids
areassociatedwiththePleistoceneMt.Binanderahanvolcanics.
Itisenvisagedthatthisprospectissuitablefordirectutilization
orbinarysystempowergeneration.
Montelago,OrientalMindoro
Reconnaissance survey at the Montelago eothermal prospect, in
OrientalMindorostartedin1982.Thiswasfollowedbydetailed
geological,geochemicalandgeophysicalstudiesin1988until1989.
An integrated geoscientific assessment revealed that the prospect
hosts a hot, neutralpH, alkalichloride, waterdominated system
associatedwithacoolingigneousbodybeneathMt.Montelago.The
2
potential resource area of 35 km o has been delineated with a
reservoir temperature of 180200 C. It is envisioned that this
prospect can be developed for either direct utilization or binary
systemofelectricitygeneration.
4.INDUSTRYOPPORTUNITIESANDCHALLENGES
While the Philippines may be one of the pioneers and in the
forefrontofworldgeothermalenergyproduction,thefactremains
thatonlytwoentities,PGIandPNOCEDC,arecurrentlyinvolved
insteamfieldexplorationanddevelopment.Benito(1998)discussed
themainreasonsthathinderprivatesectorinvestmentingeothermal
energy development such as the royalty tax imposed on the net
proceedsfromgeothermaloperations.
New laws have been passed that may have impacts or effects on
geothermalenergydevelopment,investmentsaswellasmayprolongthe
gestationperiodofgeothermalprojects:
(1) RepublicAct(RA)no.8371ortheIndigenousPeoplesRights
culturalcommunitiesandindigenous
7
Benitoetal.
peoplestotheirancestraldomainstoensuretheireconomic,
social and cultural well being. It also recognizes the
applicabilityofcustomarylawsgoverningpropertyrightsor
relationsindeterminingtheownershipandextentofancestral
domains;
(2) RA No.8749or the Philippine CleanAir Actof 1999has
made environmental protection and sustainability a critical
factoringeothermalenergydevelopmentandinvestment;and
(3) RANo.9136ortheElectricPowerIndustryReformActof
2001thatintroducedreformsintheelectricpowerindustry
and segregated power generation, transmission and
distribution of electricity. A wholesale electricity spot
marketwasalsocreatedthatwouldfacilitatecompetition
ingenerationandsupplyofelectricity.
TheGovernmentisalsolookingintotheincreasednonpower
usesofgeothermalenergy.Directuseofgeothermalenergyis
limited to agricultural drying (Table 5). There are plans to
utilizegeothermaldryingforspaandbalneologicalaplications
whicharebeingcoordinatedwithhotspringresortownersand
developers.TheGovernmentthroughtheDOEhasenteredinto
a Memorandum of Agreement for this purpose with the
DepartmentofTourismandDepartmentofHealth.
TheDOEhasalsoformulatedthecountrysRenewableEnergy
Policy Framework (REPF) in 2003 (Department of Energy,
2003). The REPF embodies the DOEs objectives, goals,
policiesandstrategiesaswellasprogramsandTableprojectsto
further develop the renewable energy (RE) sector within the
perspective of the sectors supply and demand prospects and
current stage of development given its critical role in the
countrys energy future. With the expected inflow of private
sector investments as well as the adoption of modern and
innovative technologies in exploration and development, the
DOEistargetingtheinstallationofanadditional1,200MWof
geothermalcapacitywithinthenexttenyears,resultingtoan
increaseofabout60percentfromthe2002levelof1,931MW.
Theattainmentofthistargetisbeingpursuedasastrategyto
maintain,ifnotimprove,thePhilippinesrankingasthesecond
largestgeothermalproducerintheworld.
InsupportoftheREPF,theGovernmenthasbeenadvocating
the passage of a new Renewable Energy Law that would
institutionalize the policies, incentives and other government
regulatory arrangements that would make renewable energy
competitivewithotheralternativeenergyresources.
5.CONCLUSION
TheGovernmentismovingtowardsapolicyenvironmentthatwill
facilitate the transition of the countrys energy sector to a
sustainablesystembydevelopingREasaviableandcompetitive
fueloption.Theshiftfromfossilfuelsourcestorenewableformsof
energysuchasgeothermalenergyisthekeyelementinensuringthe
successof thistransition. Infact,the globalcommunity strongly
affirmed this concept based on its commitment towards
implementingasustainableproductionandconsumptionframework
in the recently held World Summit on Sustainable Development
(WSSD)inJohannesburg,SouthAfrica.
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Benito,F.A.,1998:TheRoleofGovernmentinPhilippineGeothermal
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th
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Table5.Geothermaldirectheatuses