Lopez-owned Energy Development Corporation (EDC) has tapped Milan-based Exergy International for the supply of an organic rankine cycle (ORC) binary system for its first brine recovery geothermal plant at the foot of Mt. Apo in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato.
Unit 3 of EDC’s Mt. Apo Geothermal Power Plant will help generate an additional 3.6 megawatt electrical (MWe) of power from the Mindanao Geothermal Field that uses the waste brine available from the plant’s first two steam power units, boosting the efficiency and sustainability of power generation at the site.
For the project, Exergy will use a single pressure level bottoming cycle equipped with a radial outflow turbine that will recover the thermal energy to produce the 3.6MWe of green power before the brine is reinjected into the reservoir.
Exergy will also handle the engineering, design, and technical equipment including the cooling towers and the brine dosing system. The Italian firm will also provide technical advice to EDC for the project’s execution.
Project completion is expected by the first half of 2022. Once operational, the ORC systems will help save around 16.000 tons of carbon dioxide emission per year and 5,000 tons of oil equivalent (TOE) consumed per year.
“We are very pleased that we have been selected by EDC for this project and we are eager to work side by side with one of the most highly recognized renewable energy players worldwide. We hope this could be the beginning of a trustworthy lifetime business relationship with EDC under our shared vision of shaping a decarbonized energy future,” Exergy International CEO Albert Yam said in a statement.
“Brine recovery is a key application for our ORC technology, and it can effectively help to increase the power output of a flash plant with zero environmental impact. Moreover, brine recovery projects can be more easily implemented than greenfield geothermal, with much lower investment risks and start-up time. This first project with EDC is an excellent reference to develop this application,” said Exergy Sales Director Marco Frassinetti.
