Energy Development Corp. (EDC)—the renewable energy unit of tycoon Federico Lopez and his family’s First Gen Corp.—is deepening its investments in geothermal energy with plans to invest 25 billion pesos ($407 million) to upgrade one of its oldest power plants in the central Philippine island of Negros.
The proposed investment will optimize EDC’s 43-year old Southern Negros Geothermal Project (SNGP) while minimizing its environmental footprint, First Gen said in a statement. SNGP was commissioned in 1983 along with the Tongonan Geothermal Project in Leyte, also in central Philippines.
The SNGP proposal is on top of a separate 100-billion-peso project announced by EDC in January to upgrade and boost the capacity of the Tongonan geothermal complex, the company’s biggest facility, to 967.2 megawatts from 637.2 megawatts. The environmental impact of both projects are being assessed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources before regulatory approvals are issued.
With over four decades of sustainable operations, SNGP, which can produce over 222.5 megawatts of electricity annually, has exceeded the 25-year average lifespan of geothermal steamfields, First Gen said.
EDC plans to drill up to 43 make-up and replacement wells to ensure stable supply of geothermal steam for Negros for decades to come, First Gen said. If approved by the government, the project will reduce SNGP’s steamfield by 22% to 4,028 hectares, minimizing land disturbance in the area, according to First Gen.
The company operates 16 geothermal power stations across the Philippines with a combined installed capacity of 1,302.78 megawatts. It was privatized by government in the mid 2000s with the Lopez group taking full control in 2007.
With a net worth of $285 million based on Forbes’ estimates, the Lopez family is among the wealthiest in the Philippines. The clan also owns stakes in First Gen-parent First Philippine Holdings, property developer Rockwell, and ABS-CBN, a former TV giant until its franchise was not renewed by Philippine Congress in 2020.