PNOC-Renewables considering to bid in geothermal contracting round
State-run Philippine National Oil Co.-Renewables Corp. (PNOC-RC) is considering participating in the next contracting round for geothermal sites in the country.
In a recent news item from the Philippines, it is talked about that “state-run Philippine National Oil Co.-Renewables Corp. (PNOC-RC) is considering participating in the next contracting round for geothermal sites.
“The next contracting round for geothermal projects is scheduled to be bid out by the Department of Energy (DOE) some time in September,” Pete Maniego Jr., PNOC-RC officer-in-charge, president and chief executive, said.
In an interview, the PNOC-RC chief said they are looking at geothermal contract sites in Luzon and Mindanao that the DOE would be bidding out. “However, these projects may take some time. For instance, the geothermal contracting round will just be in September, and usually renewable energy projects have long gestation periods,” said Maniego.
PNOC-RC takes the place of once PNOC subsidiary and geothermal giant Energy Development Corp., which is now a subsidiary of First Gen Corp.
Maniego also clarified that they will not bid in the privatization of National Power Corp. geothermal-fired facilities.
Apart from bidding for geothermal sites, Maniego also noted that they are working on installing solar home systems in rural and off-grid areas as well as conducting feasibility studies and due diligence on several potential sites for hydroelectric power facilities.
“With an objective to pump prime the renewable energy sector, our mandate is to develop new renewable energy projects for more power capacity for the country, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao areas which are already experiencing power shortages,” Maniego said.
He, however, declined to divulge their war chest for the year, saying the amount of money they will spend will depend on the size of the projects they will be working on this year.
Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes earlier said there is an estimate of 4,406.56 MW geothermal capacity reserves and there is more than 10,000 square kilometers of potential wind farm sites with 76,600 MW of potential installed capacity.
Geothermal, according to Reyes, accounted for 2,027.07 MW of the country’s total generated capacity from renewable energy sources.”
Source: Business Mirror Philippines