Maibarara switches on Batangas geothermal plant

MANILA, Philippines — Maibarara Geothermal Inc. (MGI) has secured regulatory approval to commence operations and supply power to the Luzon grid for its 12-megawatt (MW) geothermal facility expansion in Batangas.

The company disclosed yesterday it has received the certificate of compliance (COC) for the 12-MW Maibarara-2 power station in Sto. Tomas, Batangas from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

“ERC’s approval of Maibarara-2’s COC proves that MGI has fully complied with the technical, operational, and financial requirements for the plant’s commercial operations. Our team and partners are proud of this milestone as Maibarara-2, however modest in size, is the first geothermal power facility to be put up under the Duterte administration and the only geothermal power plant installed in the country since 2014,” MGI president Francisco Delfin said.

The power plant underwent commissioning and testing after it successfully synchronized its 12-MW geothermal power plant (Maibarara-2) to the Luzon grid last March 9.

During the commissioning phase, the ERC conducted a technical inspection as part of the requirements for the issuance of a COC.

“Maibarara-2 construction was essentially completed last year along with the WESM (wholesale electricity spot market) registration and grid communication protocol requirements set by NGCP (National Grid Corp. of the Philippines),” PetroGreen Energy Corp. (PGEC) energy trading head Dave Gadiano said.

“Individual plant equipment testing started in early 2018 culminating in the synchronization and first delivery of power to the Luzon grid on March 9, 2018 during commissioning. Early this month, ERC conducted a thorough inspection of Maibarara-2, leading to the eventual COC approval,” he said,

PGEC owns 65 percent of MGI. It is the renewable energy holding unit of publicly-listed PetroEnergy Resources Corp. (PERC), which is part of the Yuchengco Group.

Other partners include Phinma Energy Corp. with 25 percent, and state-owned PNOC Renewables Corp. with 10 percent.

Maibarara-2 is the fourth power generating plant completed and put on-line by PGEC in four years.

Its power generation portfolio includes the 20 MW Maibarara-1 unit in February 2014, the 36 MW Nabas-1 wind farm in June 2015, and the 50 MW Tarlac-1 solar facility in February 2016.

Meanwhile, it is planning renewable energy projects worth P8.55 billion in the next two years. These include the 14-MW in its Nabas wind power project in Aklan, a 49-MW expansion in its Tarlac solar power plant and a 10-MW solar hybrid power project in Puerto Princesa.