AboitizPower breaks ground for 17-MW ‘binary’ geothermal plant in Tiwi, Albay

Aboitiz Power Corporation said Thursday it has broken ground for the construction of a 17-megawatt (MW) “binary” geothermal power plant project in Tiwi, Albay as part of the company’s efforts to expand its renewable energy footprint.

In a statement, AboitizPower said its subsidiary AP Renewables Inc. jumpstarted the construction of the new Tiwi Binary Geothermal Power Plant Project on Tuesday, January 17.

The 17-MW binary plant is located within the 1.5-hectare parcel of land where sits the Tiwi Geothermal Power Plant, the first and oldest geothermal power plant in the Philippines.

A binary geothermal plant generates electricity from two separate processes.

Construction on the binary plant is targeted for completion by the end of 2023.

AboitizPower said geothermal energy, a form of renewable energy, comes from the earth's heat and is produced by drilling production wells into the ground to tap high-temperature fluids from geothermal reservoirs.

In the case of the binary plant, the residual heat from the hot brine side of the geothermal production process, otherwise unutilized before reinjecting back to the earth, is harvested to produce electricity through the binary geothermal power plant.

The concept of recovering heat from the geothermal brine and converting it into electricity would improve its overall thermal efficiency, the company said.

The binary plant also has no emissions as its binary fluid operates in a closed-loop system, it added.

By the end of 2030, AboitizPower said, it will significantly expand its clean energy portfolio by building an additional 3,700 MW of renewable energy, growing its capacities to 4,600 MW or three times the company's current renewables portfolio.

The company added it has around 1,000 MW of disclosed renewable projects and is on its way toward achieving its targets. — Ted Cordero/BM, GMA Integrated News