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Geothermal development in the Philippines needs government as partner

Geothermal development in the Philippines needs government as partner Makban geothermal power plant, Philippines (source: ThinkGeoEnergy, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 17 Oct 2016

Aboitiz Power urges the Philippines government to support private sector geothermal development through PPP schemes that could help work with stakeholders locally.

In a press piece today, Philippines based Aboitiz Power Corporation “is recommending investment landscape changes for hydro and geothermal projects so these can be placed under public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.

The company said the government must come in as private sector ally to move projects forward, especially in cornering consents and permits of relevant stakeholders, including host communities.

Aboitiz Power President and Chief Operating Officer Antonio R. Moraza said this is particularly significant for hydropower and geothermal developments – given the extent of project approval processes that they would need before they can even proceed to development or construction phases of power facilities.

“Geothermal and impounding hydro should be under PPP…it’s too hard for private individuals to assemble 30, 40 or 50 communities to seek consent, government should really be involved there,” he said.

 

 

Source: Manila Bulletin