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Luzon gets 20MW additional capacity from Maibarara Geothermal


Maibarara Geothermal Inc. (MGI) has started operating its 20 megawatt geothermal power plant in Sto. Tomas, Batangas to provide additional electricity to the Luzon grid.
 
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, MGI said the power plant, which started operating on Feb. 8, is connected to the Luzon grid by a five-kilometer long 115 kilovolt transmission line through the distribution system of Manila Electric Co.
 
MGI designed and constructed the steamfield while EEI Corp. built the the power plant and Fuji Electric of Japan supplied the main plant equipment.
 
The facility's steamfield was initially commissioned in second quarter and the power plant in the third quarter of last year.
 
In 2012, MGI said it has invested P2.4 billion for the project’s steam field pipelines, power station, and transmission facilities.
 
MGI is a consortium of listed PetroGreen Energy Corp. which owns 65 percent, with Trans-Asia Oil & Energy Development Corp. owning 25 percent and government-owned Philippine National Oil Co.-Renewable Corp. holding a 10 percent interest in the facility.
 
The Maibarara facility is the first geothermal project to go onstream under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, which mandates the establishment of a feed-in tariff (FIT) system for electricity produced from RE sources
 
According to the Energy Department, FIT offers emerging renewable energy sources for electricity guaranteed payments on a fixed rate per kilowatt-hour for energy exported to the distribution or transmission network excluding energy used for eligible power plants’ own use.
 
But the Maibarara geothermal project will not enjoy incentives under the FIT system, Energy director Mario Marasigan told GMA News Online in a text message.
 
"Maibarara, as well as other geothermal projects, are not eligible under FIT the system. Geothermal and impounding/storage hydropower projects are considered competitive with the conventional [power projects]," he said.
 
In July 2012, the Energy Regulatory Commission approved the following FIT rates: P5.90 per kilowatt hour (kWh) for run-of-river hydro, P6.63 per kWh for biomass, P8.53 for wind and P9.68 for solar. It deferred the approval for ocean thermal energy.
 
"With FIT (feed-in-tariff) in place, we hope to see completion of several RE projects starting September," Marasigan said.
 
However, he said he cannot name any projects because awarding of the FIT rates will be based on a first-come, first-served policy. – VS, GMA News
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