QUICK READ: Being fully regenerative is part of EDC’s new mission, and is especially important as it celebrates 45 years.
This March 5, 2021, Lopez-led geothermal leader Energy Development Corporation (EDC) celebrates its 45th year of providing clean, renewable power to the nation. As the company commemorates more than four decades of responsible stewardship of natural resources and good relationships with its stakeholders and host communities, it also takes a big leap in its sustainability journey, as it moves toward becoming fully regenerative.
In Kidapawan, North Cotabato, Energy Development Corporation’s Mount Apo Geothermal Power Plant produces 108.48 MW of reliable geothermal power supply. This makes the geothermal project a significant contributor to the Mindanao power grid, providing about 11 percent of the entire electricity supply in Mindanao, as well as a steady source of job opportunities for the local population.
The power plant is nestled inside the Mount Apo Natural Park, a national treasure and an ASEAN Heritage Site. The park is one of the Philippines’ key biodiversity areas, with more than 800 species endemic to the mountainous region. It is home to one of the world’s largest eagles, the critically endangered Philippine eagle, and also serves as an ancestral home to many indigenous communities.
Recognizing the value of Mount Apo to the indigenous people, EDC ensured that the tribes were given royalties equivalent to 1 centavo per kilowatt-hour of geothermal power generated each year by EDC. EDC’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives address other community needs, such as educational programs and livelihood support.
Through its BINHI greening program, EDC continues to spread awareness about the importance of maintaining the integrity and ecosystem services of the forestlands within the 701-hectare geothermal reservation. The BINHI program has also collaborated with 47 partners from both government and private institutions throughout Mindanao to develop and protect threatened tree species through the establishment of tree parks, an arboretum, and a Vegetative Material Reproduction (VMR) Nursery.
Together with IECs conducted in collaboration with local government units, these initiatives further translate to the conservation and protection of the fauna that thrive in the forestlands. EDC partnered with the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) in their research and efforts toward conserving and protecting the endangered bird’s population. To date, EDC has adopted one Philippine eagle, Geothermica, and helped rehabilitate another, Makilala Hiraya. The company continues to pledge its support by providing funds for PEF’s monitoring activities in the geothermal reservation.
Through these programs that cut across stakeholder groups and drive action toward protecting the environment, EDC works to ensure the resilience of its host communities and equips them with a better response to future health and environmental crises.
“In a world that’s so badly in need of healing and renewal, we need to take on the challenge of going beyond sustainability and becoming regenerative,” said Federico R. Lopez, EDC’s Chairman and CEO, in his PMAP Man of the Year Acceptance Speech.
Myrissa L. Tabao, CSR Head of the Mount Apo Geothermal Project, adds, “Strong collaboration and partnerships are required in order to deal with the many adaptive challenges needed to redesign how we live, work, and do business in a changed world. Our ultimate goal is to elevate everything EDC touches—its employees, communities, customers, partners, and the environment, ensuring a lasting positive impact for generations to come.”
EDC operates the 108.48-MW Mount Apo Geothermal Project and supplies clean and reliable power to Mindanao. It is a global pioneer in the geothermal energy industry and the country’s largest vertically integrated geothermal developer, delivering 1,499 MW of clean and renewable energy to the Philippines.
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.
