Energy Development Corporation (EDC) presented its geothermal story discussing how it was able to address legal, biodiversity and social concerns of its projects during a Round Table Discussion held in Jakarta, Indonesia recently. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) specifically chose EDC’s sustainability practices to impress upon the policy makers, environmentalists, NGOs and other concerned stakeholders in Indonesia that geothermal is the best energy option for the country and that there are best practices in the Philippines to address their current issues.
“Geothermal energy as a renewable energy source is capable of sustaining national energy needs in the long run due to, among others, its low emission value, its requirement for less space than other energy sources and its reduction of dependency on fossil fuel as a source of electricity,” WWF-Indonesia director of climate change and energy Nyoman Iswarayoga explained during the Round Table Discussion and launch of the WWF report “Igniting the Ring of Fire: A Vision for Developing Indonesia’s Geothermal Power”.
EDC Senior Vice President for Environment and External Relations Agnes de Jesus discussed how geothermal has helped in climate mitigation. “EDC’s carbon emissions are between 85-92 percent less than the average record for the grid where the company operates. As a result of geothermal projects, the Philippines has reduced its dependency on fossil fuels and lowered its carbon intensity in its last survey a few years ago. In fact, the country is now ranked 49th from being 21st among the countries with high carbon emissions based on the report of Carbon Monitoring for Action, a professional organization monitoring 50,000 power plants and 4,000 companies around the world.”
De Jesus also shared EDC’s biodiversity conservation efforts ranging from forest patrols to systematic reforestation using native species to sustainable livelihood for forest communities as well as its corporate social responsibility projects with the forum’s participants. She added that EDC developed internal policies and protocols to balance energy development, community interests and environmental protection.
The round table discussion is one of the activities under WWF’s “Ring of Fire Project” which is intended to accelerate the implementation of geothermal energy in geothermal rich regions in support of the conservation organization’s vision for the world to be powered by 100% Renewable Energy by 2050. It has the ultimate goal of increasing installed geothermal capacity in the region by 150 per cent in 2015 and 300 percent by 2020. On top of increasing geothermal production, the project will also address issues on environmental sustainability, energy security and climate change.
In the Philippines, WWF has selected geothermal leader EDC to be a partner in the “Ring of Fire Project” with the aim of replicating the Philippines’ global success in sustainable geothermal production for Indonesia’s largely untapped geothermal energy resources. The Philippines gets 17 percent of its electricity supply from geothermal power plants and is the second largest geothermal energy producer in the world, next to the US while only 1.4% of Indonesia’s estimated 28,944 MW reserve has been tapped.
WWF-Philippines and EDC forged its “Ring of Fire” partnership in 2011 to help accelerate geothermal development by creating an enabling environment in geothermal rich countries, starting with Indonesia, by working on environmental sustainability, social acceptance, economic issues, capacity building and awareness raising.
The Energy Development Corporation (EDC) is a pioneer in generating 100% clean, renewable, and reliable power as an electricity supplier in the Philippines for over 40 years. With power plants all over Visayas and Mindanao, the company is one of the biggest producers of geothermal energy in Asia and is expanding its reach in the international market, allowing it to offer customers affordable energy rates. EDC also strives to provide the best customer service it can to all its clients by having helpful salespeople and easy to understand contracts. Because of all of this, it is poised to become the premier supplier of electricity for the Philippines’ Green Energy Option Program. EDC takes its mission as a renewable energy provider seriously and goes beyond sustainability by investing in programs that enhance the environment and empower its partner communities, thereby fostering regenerative development. The company has also been working toward being carbon-neutral by improving its energy efficiency, as well as implementing various greening projects to ensure that its mission to provide future generations with a better life remains intact.
