The Philippine government is pushing for the development of small-scale geothermal projects to reclaim the country’s spot as the second largest producer of geothermal energy.
However, developers are asking fiscal and non-fiscal incentives from government as low to medium enthalpy geothermal projects are high risk and require large capital.
The Department of Energy (DOE) is urging the industry to proceed to the next wave in Philippine geothermal growth, assistant secretary Robert Uy said during the First International Geothermal Conference - Beyond Conventional on Wednesday.
He said the country has not seen any geothermal development since the enactment of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, which dislodged the Philippines from the second top spot in terms of capacity generated from the resource.
The development of non-conventional geothermal resources, despite the low capacity generated, is more economical to develop due to their proximity to transmission lines and communities, unlike conventional geothermal projects that are expensive, up in the mountains and difficult in securing permitting requirements, NGAP president Joeffrey Caranto said on the sidelines of the conference.