AP Renewables Inc. (APRI), a subsidiary of listed firm Aboitiz Power Corporation, is targeting to add at least 17 megawatts into its power generation capacity by pursuing its blueprinted binary geothermal power project in Tiwi, Albay.
According to APRI, it will be constructing a binary geothermal power plant “that will utilize excess heat from spent brine at the Tiwi geothermal facility.”
As explained by APRI President and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Estrella, “the concept of recovering heat from geothermal brine and converting it into electricity is a novel solution that increases the overall generation productivity from the Tiwi geothermal facility.”
Upon the new plant’s commercial operation, Aboitiz Power indicated that the generated capacity will be fed into Luzon grid and will also boost the “Cleanergy’ portfolio of the company.
As emphasized by Aboitiz Power President and CEO Emmanuel V. Rubio, “the expansion of our Cleanergy portfolio isn’t solely hinged on acquisitions or the construction of big-ticket projects… we always seek ways to optimize available resources. This project is a testament to that.”
The company said the Tiwi binary plant “will be built from the ground up with an entirely new binary plant system, pipes, and transmission line.”
For this power plant venture to be advanced into fruition, APRI conveyed that it already signed an agreement with its steam provider “for the supply of brine that will fuel the binary facility.”
The construction of the project is targeted for completion by the end of next year; and after the warranted commissioning and testing, it can already produce electricity on commercial basis that will add up to Luzon grid supply.
The Aboitiz group is eyeing to grow its renewable energy portfolio by adding roughly 4,000 megawatts of capacity by the turn of the decade.
“We are determined to further grow our Cleanergy portfolio in the next 10 years and will pursue every reasonable opportunity to do so,” Rubio stressed.
On the propounded new geothermal facility in Albay, Estrella specified that “this project is meant to recycle our by-product and turn it into productive energy in the form of electricity, through the addition of a binary plant.”
Since Aboitiz Power’s acquisition of the Tiwi and Makiling-Banahaw geothermal facilities in 2009 through privatization carried out by state-run the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), the company noted that it consistently injected investments for the rehabilitation of the geothermal assets so their operating life cycle could be extended and their generation capacity be reinforced. (MMV)