Energy Development Corp., the biggest producer of geothermal steam [in the Philippines], is conducting feasibility studies on new technologies to improve and increase the output from its power plants.
“We are first looking at our existing areas, we are doing sort of recycling of heat. So instead of heating 160 degrees centigrade, we harness the heat further and inject the fluids at 120 degrees,” EDC assistant vice president Noel Salonga said over the weekend.
“We will conclude (the study) within the year, then next year, look for proper technologies to make that happen,” Salonga said.
He said EDC could harness “roughly 100 MW more if we could put up all these technologies.”
Salonga said the most available geothermal projects today were of lower generation capacity of 20 megawatts to 40 MW and required deeper drilling compared with previous discoveries, which had bigger output of 200 MW and were more economical to develop.