Maibarara Geothermal adds 12 MW power to Luzon

MANILA, Philippines — Maibarara Geothermal Inc. (MGI) has started exporting much needed supply boost to the Luzon grid from its 12-megawatt geothermal facility expansion in Batangas.

The company successfully synchronized its 12-MW Maibarara-2 (M2) to the Luzon grid last March 9.

The power plant will now undergo commissioning and testing in orAder to secure clearance from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for commercial operations, MGI power plant manager Paul Elmer Morala said.

“During these tests, the ERC will conduct a technical inspection as part of the commission’s requirements for the issuance of a certificate of compliance (COC). Commercial operations of M2 will follow with the COC award,” Morala said.

Last December, MGI secured the Philippine Electricity Market Corp.’s approval  for the registration of M2 as a Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) participating generation facility.

This means M2 is allowed to export power to the grid during the commissioning stage.

The facility, located in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, is the second geothermal unit of MGI, a joint venture of PetroGreen Energy Corp. (65 percent), Phinma Energy Corp. (25 percent) and PNOC Renewables Corp. (10 percent).

The first unit is the 20-MW Maibarara geothermal venture which was declared in 2011 as the first commercial project under the 2008 RE Law framework by the Department of Energy (DOE) and was successfully put on stream in 2014. 

MGI president Francisco Delfin Jr. said M2 is the first geothermal facility to be put up under the administration of President Duterte and the only geothermal power plant installed in the country since 2014.

“MGI began construction of the facility in March 2016, employing several local construction companies, but retaining Fuji Electric of Japan as the supplier of the plant’s turbine-generator and other major equipment. This capacity expansion will also provide additional royalties and taxes to the national and host local governments,” he said.

For PGEC, the geothermal plant expansion is the fourth power generating plant completed and put on-line in four years, its president Milagros Reyes said.

“It marks the second wave of our judicious investment and operation in the renewable energy sector following the first wave with 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,” she said.

PGEC is the renewable energy holding unit of publicly-listed PetroEnergy Resources Corp. (PERC), which is part of the Yuchengco group of companies.

Last year, PERC lined up P8.55 billion worth of renewable energy projects for the next two years, which include the expansion of its Nabas and Tarlac facilities.