EDC marks 30 years of geothermal plant operation in Valencia

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines -- Geothermal leader Energy Development Corporation (EDC) has proven that geothermal plants can last beyond its average life span of 25 years, with the 30th anniversary celebration of its 2nd oldest power plant, Palinpinon-1, located in Valencia town of Negros Oriental.

EDC (formerly the Philippine National Oil Company-EDC until it was privatized) celebrated the plant's milestone with a thanksgiving day and cited five of loyal employees of the Southern Negros Geothermal Production Field (SNGPF).

It also conferred recognition to partners and stakeholders, among them the Valencia municipal government, headed by Mayor Edgar Teves, and chairpersons of the host barangays Caidiocan, Malaunay and Puhagan  where the geothermal fields are located.

EDC-Negros Island's Geothermal Business Unit head Erwin Avante, in his speech during the celebration, said the 112.5-mW Palinpinon-1 power plant was commissioned in 1983 following an oil embargo by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Companies, ten years earlier during the Yom Kippur War in the Arab world.

That war resulted in a cut in the global oil supplies by 15 percent, and the Philippines, which imported 95 percent of its energy requirements at the time in the form of oil, suffered setbacks such as gas rationing, longer brownouts and increase in prices of commodities, he said.

The government's response was the creation of the then PNOC-EDC in 1976 through PD 927 to harness indigenous, renewable, non-oil resources, said Avante, adding that the Palinpinon-1 plant was intended to supply power to Negros Island and neighboring provinces in the Visayas region.

"It was a leap of faith but probably one of the greatest decisions ever made by President (Ferdinand) Marcos.  Just a little more than a year after, Palinpinon already showed proof of its geothermal abundance," he said.

EDC was the first to install power plants next to modular wells in the 60-hectare compact development area in Valencia, the country's first fast-track power project that was commissioned in just three years and the first to export geothermal power across islands to Negros Occidental, Guimaras, and Panay Island.

"Thirty years later, the SNGP Complex still remains as a model for compact development. Moreover, since the power plants were acquired by Green Core Geothermal Inc. (GCGI) from the National Power Corporation, it has proved to be EDC's most sustainable and most reliable green-power facility as a result of its top-notch maintenance program," Avante said.

Palinpinon-1 has gone beyond the 25-year average lifespan of geothermal plants and "rest assured that it will continue to run in generating clean power for many generations to come," he said.

PNOC EDC became fully privatized in November 2007 and was referred to as EDC from then on. Its first order of the day upon privatization was to acquire all power plants where it supplies steam to ensure a seamless operation and better power plant reliability and efficiency.

In 2009, EDC acquired Palinpinon-1 and Palinpinon-2 here in Negros Oriental and 112.5MW Tongonan-1 in Leyte, through GCGI, making it the world's largest vertically integrated geothermal company. Tongonan-1 was the first power plant to be commissioned also in 1983, a few months before Palinpinon-1.

EDC officials assured they will continue to strive to become not just the biggest geothermal company in the country but to become the number one in geothermal energy worldwide.

Meanwhile, the five SNGPF employees conferred with loyalty awards for 30 years in service were Teofilo Nocete, Ramonito Arong, Edgar Lucero, Rey Genoves and Jeremiah Sarita.  (FREEMAN)