ThinkGeoEnergy – Geothermal Energy News

Geothermal – a sustainability energy solution, case study from the Philippines

With a commitment not to utilise coal for power generation and a focus on geothermal energy, Philippines-based Energy Development Corp. (EDC) shows how sustainability can be a profitable and important element of sustainability efforts.

In an article on sustainability, the overall urge to break the cycle and to establish a more stable and secure future through sustainable practices in business and society is being talked about in the context of the Philippines.

The country has been ranked among the top five countries at risk of the effects of climate variability in the past couple of decades, as reported in the Global Climate Risk Index. This can be seen in the weather disturbances with catastrophic natural disasters hitting the country in recent years.

The local Business Inquirer is taking geothermal leader and leading renewable energy company Energy Development Corporation (EDC) as an example describing it as having always been cognizant of the role that sustainable power generation plays in ensuring the long-term welfare of Filipinos, and more so in recent years as climate change has become not just a more imminent threat but already a harsh reality. As such, EDC has committed itself to powering a greener future through only cleaner sources of energy, primarily geothermal.

The commitment is remarkable in the overall picture of the Philippines energy sector, as coal is still the most prevalent source of power in the country. As of today, the Lopez Group of Companies, which owns EDC, is the only conglomerate int he Philippines to make a categorical declaration against coal.

EDC is also one of the pioneering companies in the Philippines that has achieved carbon-neutral operations, if not even the only one.  In 2017, EDC reported a carbon footprint of a little over 790,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), which is only around 22% of the carbon absorption of all the trees it has nurtured in its environmental drive in the past four decades—in effect, even making it a carbon negative enterprise, or what industry experts also term “climate positive.”

Energy Development Corp. sees geothermal energy as a key to a stable and baseload capacity form of energy helping the country to support a developing and growing economy. Utilising a natural and national resource, geothermal also provides clean, reliable and renewable energy around the clock year round, crucial for consumers, businesses and industries in the country.

Harnessing geothermal energy is also an act of harmony with the environment. The sites where EDC operates in are proof of the symbiosis between man and nature that is genuinely possible—communities of practice where health, safety, and local livelihood thrive in tune with the flourishing natural environment of forests and watershed.

Geothermal is perhaps the only clear solution to meeting today’s energy needs without mortgaging natural resources at the expense of future generations—effectively breaking the perilous downward spiral of destruction the world faces and paving the way for a sustainable energy future.

To show that this is not at all a new concept for EDC, here a presentation the company shared on the topic back in 2012.

Source: Business Inquirer

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