Batangas geothermal plant to start operation by December

By Leslie Gatpolintan

MANILA -- Listed PetroEnergy Resources Corp. (PERC) said on Monday the expansion project at the Maibarara geothermal power plant in Santo Tomas,

Batangas is currently being finished to meet target commercial operation this December.

Maibarara Geothermal Inc. (MGI) plant manager Paul Morala said the commissioning and testing of the 12-megawatt Maibarara-2 now “enter their final phases.”

PERC told the local bourse that MGI's 20-MW Unit-1 reached its 600-gigawatt hour (GWh) generation mark during the billing period ending Oct. 25, a milestone achieved more than three years from the start of the facility’s commercial operation.

 “Apart from the scheduled annual maintenance shutdowns, we have managed to minimize forced outages in the facility leading to very high capacity and availability factors,” said MGI President Francisco Delfin Jr.

The Maibarara-1 plant was recently declared as the Best Renewable Energy Project in the national grid category of the ASEAN Energy Awards 2017 held during the ASEAN Energy Ministers Meeting in Manila last September.

MGI is 65 percent owned by PetroGreen Energy Corp. (PGEC), 25 percent by Phinma Energy, and 10 percent by PNOC Renewables Corp. PGEC is the renewable energy holding firm of PERC. (PNA)