LOPEZ-LED Energy Development Corp. (EDC) is looking into drilling more wells in the next three years to sustain its operations via geothermal energy sources.
“The main focus of EDC over the next three years is to make sure that we can continue to deliver the amount of renewable source of geothermal for our customers,” EDC Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Francis Giles B. Puno said during a conference organized by Net Zero Carbon Alliance (NZCA) on Monday.
“Part of that is a need to drill close to 40 wells over the next three years. It means an investment of roughly in excess of half a billion dollars just to make sure that we can continue to extract sustainable steam from the ground,” he added.
EDC, the renewable energy arm of listed First Gen Corp., will drill the new wells mostly in Leyte province.
On its website, the company said that it has an installed capacity of 1,480.19 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy, of which 1,185.40 MW comes from geothermal sources.
NZCA, in partnership with media and business intelligence organization Eco-Business, organized the conference to gather international and local experts on climate and sustainability and discuss the challenges, opportunities, and solutions to expedite the private sector’s net-zero journey.
“As always, climate action is a matter of urgency as we continue to experience the ever-increasing impacts of our warming planet around the world, most especially in the Philippines,” said Allan V. Barcena, executive director of NZCA and assistant vice-president and head of corporate relations and communications of EDC.
“NZCA aims to contribute practical measures toward decarbonization that Philippine businesses can take, starting with interventions such as renewable energy,” he added. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
