Energy Development Corp. (EDC) is pulling the plug on its geothermal power project-Upper Mahiao Power Plant (UMPP)-in Leyte as it has reached its maximum economic life.
‘The Company submitted to the Department of Energy its letter of intent to decommission in phases its Upper Mahiao Power Plant located in the municipality of Kananga, Leyte,’ it said.
EDC Vice President Ryan Velasco said UMPP, which has an installed capacity of 129 megawatts (MW), has key components that typically have an economic life of around 15 to 20 years.
Aside from reaching its maximum economic life, the electricity generated from UMPP is no longer technically viable.
Velasco said the decommissioning will be implemented in phases, with the first two of the four units, targeted by 2026, and the rest by 2029.
‘We will also be conducting site feasibility studies and look at various options including the potential repurposing or redevelopment of the area,’ said the EDC official on Tuesday.
EDC has an installed capacity of 1,418.69 megawatts (MW), which accounts for 17 percent of the country’s total installed renewable energy capacity.
Its geothermal facilities are the 190-MW Bacon-Manito (BacMan) geothermal complex which consists of BacMan 1 and 1, Palayan binary, and Tanawon; 620-MW Unified Leyte which include the Malitbog, Mahanagdong 1, Mahanagdong 2, Upper Mahiao, and optimization plants; 123-MW Tongonan; 49.4-MW Nasulo; 172.5-MW Palinpinon 1 and 2, which comprise of Palinpinon, Sogongon, Nasuji; and 106.99-MW Mindanao 1,2,3, which include Mt Apo 1,2, and binary plant.
Aside from geothermal, EDC also runs the 150-MW Burgos wind power plant, and 6.8-MW Burgos 1 and 2 solar plants.
The 29-MW Palayan Binary Geothermal Power Plant, inaugurated on July 5, 2024, and the recently switched on 22-MW Tanawon Geothermal Power Plant in Sorsogon are two of EDC’s seven growth projects that are already up and running.
There are four more are lined up for commissioning this year. These are the 28-MW Mahanagdong Binary Geothermal Power Plant in Leyte and three Battery Energy Storage Systems Projects totaling 40 MWh, which comprise the 20-MW BESS in BacMan, 10-MW in Leyte, and 10-MW in Negros Oriental.
The last growth project in the list is the 5.6-MW Bago Binary Geothermal Power Plant in Negros Occidental by 2026.