SINGAPORE – Use of new technologies and government support will further bolster the Philippines’ geothermal energy production and help meet the government’s bid to increase the share of renewable energy (RE) in the total mix.

To date, geothermal energy accounts for only around 8.5 percent of the country’s power generation mix, the bulk of which is accounted for by coal, at over 60 percent.

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin, in an interview with journalists on the sidelines of the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) earlier in the week, underscored the need to support geothermal energy exposure as part of the move to increase the share of RE in the country’s energy mix.

Under the Philippine Energy Plan (2023-2050), the share of RE is targeted to increase to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

Last June, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that under the third green energy auction (GEA-3), a total of 27.218 MW of geothermal energy was awarded.

Amidst the low level of share of geothermal energy in the country, to date, industry data show that the Philippines is the third largest producer of geothermal energy in the world, with an installed capacity of around 1,935 megawatts (MW), next to the US and Indonesia.

Garin said measures are being put in place to encourage more geothermal energy projects, citing the inclusion of geothermal power in the Green Energy Auction and the planned derisking facility that will address the cost of new projects.

She said officials of DOE have proposed higher funding for the gradiometric survey in the Visayas and Mindanao to determine what areas have the capacity to produce geothermal power.

“We are really pushing for it. It’s a very expensive endeavor, but the returns are big,” she said.

Future investments are seen to be encouraged by the derisking facility to be provided with the help of the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) that will likely be in place by December this year, she added.

The said facility, earlier, reported to be managed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and is said to amount to around USD250 million, will provide funding for geothermal energy exploration in way of a grant if the project is deemed unsuitable, or a loan once it is proven to be viable.

Jay Joel Soriano, First Gen Corporation vice president and head of Strategy and Planning, said the derisking facility is an assurance that the government is committed to support the sector.

Asked for a projection on the untapped geothermal capacity of the country, he said this probably runs to “a few thousand megawatts” but stressed that this depends on what technology will be used for the power plant’s operation.

“If we just simply look at high enthalpy, the traditional ones, I suspect the number will be quite limited. But if we start opening up to new technologies - low enthalpy wells, closed loop cycles, (and) all of these other technologies, I suspect the number will be much bigger. I just don't have the firm number right now,” he said.

“But to expand, to retain our leadership position, I think we need to start looking at other technologies. Technologies that are still quite nascent. Technologies that have a potential in the Philippines,” he added.