EDC tingkatkan fasilitas panas bumi Leyte

Hal ini untuk meningkatkan efisiensi, keberlanjutan, dan perpanjangan usia operasional pembangkit.

Energy Development Corporation (EDC) berencana melakukan peningkatan besar pada fasilitas pembangkit listrik panas bumi di Leyte, Filipina, guna meningkatkan efisiensi operasional, memperpanjang عمر pembangkit, sekaligus memastikan keberlanjutan operasinya dalam jangka panjang.

“Kami akan memasang berbagai langkah mitigasi pada titik wellhead dan antarmuka pembangkit, seperti perangkat penangkap padatan dan sistem pencucian uap,” ujar Teodulfo Troyo, Head of Leyte Site EDC, kepada Asian Power. Kombinasi sistem tersebut menghasilkan uap berkualitas tinggi yang lebih murni, mengurangi kandungan pengotor, serta membantu menjaga operasi turbin uap tetap efisien dan andal.

Sebagai anak usaha First Gen Corporation, EDC mengoperasikan tiga pembangkit panas bumi di kawasan Tongonan Geothermal Field, yakni Tongonan, Malitbog, dan Upper Mahiao. Program peningkatan kali ini akan berfokus pada fasilitas steamfield yang memasok energi ke seluruh pembangkit tersebut.

Melalui pembaruan ini, perusahaan menargetkan peningkatan performa operasional sekaligus menjaga keberlanjutan sumber daya panas bumi, sehingga pembangkit dapat terus beroperasi secara optimal dalam jangka panjang.

Straddling Kananga and Ormoc in Leyte, the Tongonan geothermal field comprises 31 production wells and nine reinjection wells and spans more than 107,000 hectares of protected forest land.

EDC is consulting a professional engineering firm that has worked on similar geothermal projects in other countries to plan the upgrades.

Troyo said that EDC is now in the data gathering phase, with final design and cost estimates to follow. He added that the design phase would take at least six months, followed by construction or equipment replacement over within two to three years.

EDC is also exploring new technologies, such as electrical submersible pumps, to revitalise older wells and modular binary plants that don’t require extensive steam piping.

“These are still in the planning stage, but since they are already used abroad, we hope to replicate similar success,” Troyo said, citing the potential to add 10 megawatts (MW) to 15 MW without heavy infrastructure costs.

Turbines and generator rotors in Tongonan’s facilities have been replaced, and operations are now nearly fully automated. “Operations now focus on optimising and monitoring the plant, with less manual adjustment,” Troyo said.

Plans are also underway to replace nine cooling towers with new units that are resilient to typhoons and earthquakes.

With these upgrades, EDC expects Tongonan to remain operational until at least 2046.

Meanwhile, the firm’s other geothermal facilities are also due for rehabilitation and upgrades over the near term.  The 180 MW Mahanagdong facilities will undergo rehabilitation and capacity upgrades in three to five years, whilst Upper Mahiao is slated for complete plant replacement to boost generating capacity from 130 MW to at least 200 MW, supported by additional geothermal wells.

Aside from Tongonan, EDC owns seven other geothermal power stations operating across the Philippines, bringing total generating capacity to over 1,100 MW.