ENERGY Secretary Sharon Garin said the country would need ‘about P60 billion’ worth of assistance to reduce financial barriers in early-stage geothermal exploration, covering 2,000 megawatts (MW) of potential geothermal capacity.
There is already a P10-billion Philippine Geothermal Resource De-Risking Facility (PGRDF)-a risk-sharing mechanism that converts unsuccessful drilling costs into grants while turning successful exploration funds into repayable loans-that can cover roughly 300MW of new geothermal capacity.
However, the DOE said as much as 2,000MW more of geothermal capacity can be developed.
Garin said the P10 billion is ‘good enough only for 300 megawatts. Imagine if you want the whole 2,000 megawatts that would be P60 billion. That’s a huge amount,’ she said.
The DOE and the Land Bank of the Philippines earlier established the PGRDF. The DOE will serve as the executing agency, responsible for policy direction and governance, including the establishment of technical standards, eligibility criteria, and overall program oversight. LandBank will act as the facility administrator and manager, overseeing sub-loan applications, milestone-based funding releases, collections, and program reporting.
Garin is hoping that if and when the P10 billiion PGRDF is tapped out, there will be other financial institutions that would assist the DOE again. ‘Hopefully, there’s enough momentum in the industry that can encourage development even without the de-risking facility. But if it’s needed, we can always attempt to get more of that kind. It could be with the ADB or other types. I think if it’s successful, not just the ADB will offer,’ she said.
The National Geothermal Association of the Philippines (NGAP) fully supports the PGRDF.
NGAP said the PGRDF addresses the high upfront risks of exploration drilling and is expected to revitalize greenfield geothermal development, unlock indigenous baseload renewable energy resources, reduce dependence on imported fuels, and support long-term sustainable development.
‘We work with NGAP, we work with the other agencies, to make sure that we choose the correct projects to fund for this facility,’ added Garin.