CNN features Leyte geothermal projects Thursday, June 20, 2013 INTERNATIONAL news network CNN featured the geothermal fields of Leyte in Ormoc and Kananga citing the energy projects for their positive impact on the Philippines economy. CNN’s mini-documentary program “Eco Solutions” features the vast geothermal steam fields in Malitbog and Mahanagdong field in Leyte. Leyte’s geothermal reserve, which straddles Ormoc City and Kananga town, is the world’s largest of its kind. Operated by Energy Development Corp. (EDC), the 30-year-old renewable energy project is providing electricity not only to the residents of Leyte but to the entire Philippines through the national power grid. EDC envisioned the Leyte geothermal project in the 1970s as a long-term solution to the oil crisis. Located at 96 kilometers of steam pipelines, the facility houses four major power plants that supply the electricity need of the host island Leyte and its neighbor islands of Cebu and Samar. The featured power plant in Malitbog is the world’s biggest power station under one roof. At 700 megawatts (MW), the Leyte steam fields supply clean energy source to the plants that generate electricity bought by the National Power Corp. and various distribution utilities. The integrated geothermal energy facility in Leyte harnesses power from the trapped heat beneath the earth’s surface to produce efficient and economical electricity while preserving and protecting the biodiversity of the 107,625-hectare reservation. In an interview clip in the CNN feature, Vice President Manuel C. Paete, who is a Leyteño himself, shares how geothermal came to exist. He is one of the engineers that helped in the expansion of the facility in the 1990s. “This showcases that geothermal is a reliable source of power,” he said. Geothermal energy evolved to be the first technically and economically feasible renewable energy option for the Philippines. EDC tapped the vast reservations underneath the island’s dead volcanic backyard, developing technology that effectively provides not only clean power but also pioneered environmental management and corporate social responsibility practices that benefit people living around the reservation. EDC’s pioneering crew of geologists and engineers was the first to locate underground reservoir in the greater Tongonan sector. The three MW pilot plant was made operational in a world record time of nine months after the crew drilled well 401, yielding a positive output to operate a small but commercially viable power plant. By 1983, a bigger power plant at 112.5 MW was commissioned, marking the birth of geothermal energy in Visayas. EDC’s Leyte geothermal projects were the first to design and use topping and bottoming plants to optimize excess steam and the first to test the vertical discharge diffuser technology that allows prolonged well testing without damaging nearby vegetation. Geothermal plants produce only a fraction of emissions of those using hydrocarbons. If properly managed, it can be renewable through the reinjection process that allows for the proper recycling of water and recharging of the reservoir. EDC plans to expand the geothermal business by exploring concessions in other geothermal producing countries like Indonesia, Chile, and Peru. EDC has developed a successful model that it can now export this expertise to power-hungry nations. This is the second time CNN has featured geothermal in Leyte, the first in 2007 also in the same program - Sun Star
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 06:36:17 +0000