Low-temperature geothermal resources an untapped potential for the Philippines

1st Philippine Geothermal Conference by NGAP (source: ThinkGeoEnergy)

Carlo Cariaga 2 Oct 2019

The utilization of low-temperature geothermal fluids holds great potential for the growth of the Philippine geothermal power generation capacity

Low-temperature geothermal fluids, whether in untapped sites or in the reinjection facilities of producing projects, represent a potential avenue for growth for the Philippine geothermal industry. This was a topic discussed in several presentations during the 1st Philippine Geothermal Conference in Marquis Events Place, Taguig, Metro Manila.

With a focus on developing non-conventional geothermal resources, private and government entities have looked into low-temperature fluids as a means to grow the country’s geothermal power production capacity.

Rizabigail Reyes, Science Research Specialist of the Geothermal Energy Management Division of the Department of Energy, reported on their group’s efforts to characterize the low-temperature geothermal prospects in the Philippines through geoscientific surveys. By conducting exploration on these sites – including Camiguin de Babuyanes and El Nido – they can reduce the risk of development and hope to more easily attract private investors.

Richard de Guzman from Energy Development Corporation also presented the results of an ongoing project to utilize the reinjection brine in the Bacman Geothermal Field for optimized power production. With a mass flow of 400 kg/s and temperature of 150 C, the reinjection fluid has the potential to add to the field’s production capacity through binary technology.

However, silica scaling remains one of the biggest challenges of such an undertaking. The group of de Guzman has conducted scaling treatment trials on the geothermal brine and hopes to implement them in the near future.