MHI to supply equipment for the 29 MW binary geothermal power plant in Albay

Turboden S.p.A., a Group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) based in Lombardy, Italy, and Mitsubishi Power, Ltd. have jointly received an order for 29-megawatt (MW) binary cycle power generation equipment to be installed at the geothermal power plant operated in Palayan, in the southeastern sector of Luzon Island in the Philippines, by Energy Development Corporation (EDC), a local company which boasts of being the world's largest vertically integrated geothermal company.

The power generation system to be provided by Turboden will add new binary cycle geothermal power equipment, whose key component is the company's proprietary 29 MW ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) system, to the existing 120 MW flash type geothermal power plant owned and operated by Bac-Man Geothermal Inc. (BGI), an EDC power subsidiary. The new system will generate power making effective use of brine, which until now has merely been returned to reinjection well. By replacing power in the power grid now derived from fossil fuels, etc., the new installation will enable the reduction of CO2 emissions derived from steam power.

This project has been selected as a project for the Financing Programme for Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) Model Projects in FY2020 administered by Japan's Ministry of the Environment and its execution body, the Global Environment Centre Foundation (GEC). In addition to helping to curb CO2 emissions in the Philippines, the project will contribute to Japan's attainment of its CO2 reduction target. The new 29MW binary cycle power generation configuration is expected to trim CO2 emissions by approximately 72,200 tons per year (equivalent to some 20,000 hectares of forest). Mitsubishi Power will dispatch personnel to the site to offer installation guidance and handle domestic transport, etc. through MHI Power (Philippines) Plant Services Corporation, its local subsidiary which has a robust track record in the construction of geothermal and steam power plants as well as provision of power solutions.

Turboden will provide the complete power generation system, and Mitsubishi Power will provide support through its local resources. The order calls for project completion and operation startup by the end of 2022.