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EDC applies for 13 concessions in Chile pushing its international expansion

EDC applies for 13 concessions in Chile pushing its international expansion Copper Mine Radomiro Tomic, Region II at Antofagasta, Chile (source: flickr/ matt.hintsa, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 18 Jul 2011

Energy Development Corp. (EDC) has applied for 13 geothermal energy concession in Chile to jump start its international expansion, claiming that development cycle will see international development picking up when domestic projects are ready.

News from the Philippines report that, geothermal company “Energy Development Corp. (EDC) has applied for 13 geothermal energy concession in Chile to jump start its international expansion.

Richard Tantonco, EDC president, said out of the 13 concession areas the company has applied for, five are uncontested.

Tantonco said that the company expects the government of Chile to award the geothermal energy concessions within the year.

“The development cycle for foreign (ventures) takes about six years. If we get the concession areas now, by the time you see the cash coming out of it, it’s going to be six years,” he said.

“Fortunately, after five to six years, we have a lot of growth here locally. By 2016, that’s the time we see the internationals taking off,” he said.

Tantonco said earlier EDC was set to invest P20.6 billion (US$478 million) to expand its generation portfolio by 38 percent or 1,542 megawatt in five year.

EDC, the country’s biggest producer of geothermal power and the second biggest in the world, plans to spend about $1 billion for green field projects.

He said the company has scheduled the operation of the 250 MW Bacman geothermal plant, won by EDC in a bidding conducted by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. last year, and the 86 MW Bugos wind project for 2012.

He also said that it is set to operate the 40 MW Tanawon and 20 MW Nasulo geothermal projects in 2013; the 50 MW Mindanao 3 geothermal project by 2014; the 40 MW Rangas geothermal project by 2015; and the 40 MW Kayabon geothermal project in 2015.

Tantonco said last week that EDC is expecting income to go down this year because of the shutdown of the 150 megawatt Northern Negros geothermal facility.

He said that the company will incur a one-time P5.1 billion (US$118 million) loss this year from the shutdown.”

Source: Malaya Business Insight