Lopez-led Energy Development Corporation (EDC) is seeking the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) approval to develop, own, and operate dedicated point-to-point limited facilities to connect the Mindanao 3 (M3) geothermal power project to the Mindanao Grid.
In a filing with the ERC, EDC said that the completion of the 3.6-megawatt (MW) M3 Binary project would be critical to ensure additional capacity for the grid given the immediate need for additional capacity by 2022, as projected by the Department of Energy (DOE). The ERC set the hearings for EDC’s application next month.
EDC is looking to link the M3 Binary project to the grid by building a one-kilometer 69-kilovolt transmission line. The firm will also develop a switchyard and other related facilities that will connect the plant directly to the Kidapawan Substation of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
The company will be spending about Php245 million for constructing and developing the connection asset, which it hopes to complete by the fourth quarter. It also plans to have the asset in place and ready for the commissioning of the M3 Binary geothermal power project in the first quarter of 2022.
Based on the DOE’s Power Development Plan, Mindanao will need a total of 10,200MW of additional capacity by 2040.