News Update:

CALLING FOR GOVERNMENT ON MAXIMIZING ENERGY IN TIWI

by: Lanilane Ocbina 

Tiwi Albay- A large percentage of generated steam from the geothermal wells of Chevron Geothermal Philippines Holdings, Inc is not prioritized by the government according to Arthur Baria, Chevron asset affairs supervisor.

Chevron is an American company that provides energy to National Power Corporation (NPC). The geothermal operations is held in about 1, 800 hectare area, running with 150 MW. According to Baria,  out of this production, only 60MW is used by NPC during off-peak hours though 100% is coped up in peak hours. 

He further said that they had been lobbying to the government that geothermal resources shall be optimized and set as the primary source of energy. Based on geothermal facts, only 8% of the energy all over the country comes from geothermal, 22% from natural gases and 15% from hydrothermal. The remaining 55% comes from fuel, which is very expensive.

Two out of seven geothermal plants in teh country are under American firms. These two are in the Tiwi and the Mak-Ban areas. The geothermal operations in Tiwi is supplying 20% of the power in Luzon grid.

Baria appeals to a report on the shortfall in water supply due to lack of rainfalls. The dry spell in Luzon, according to him, should prompt authorities to immediately focus on other energy resources, especially the geothermal.

Geothermal energy is one big solution to te emerging power crisis in the Philippines according to Baria. This resource is less expensive than coal and bunker fuel, whcih are beign imported. He added that when the geothermal energy was tapped in the country, US$5 Billion is saved in foreign exhachange.

From the DOE website:

              "The development of promising geothermal areas had been temporarily set aside pending technological breakthroughs in handling acidic wells,"

The passage of laws on environment preservation such as the Republic Act 7586 or the "National Integrated Protected Areas System Act," and the empowerment of the cultural minorities like the Republic Act 8371 or the "Indigenous People's Rights Act of 1997" also posed constraints, the website added.

Tiwi geothermal exploration started in 1972 and the Naglagbong in Bacman, Sorsogon was discovered a year after. The operation of Tiwi geothermal plant started in Jan.11, 1979 and produced 289MW.

source:http://www.inquirer.net/specialreports/watercrisis/view.php?db=1&article=20070731-79729

News update:

ARROYO SUPPORTS OPEN POWER ACCESS FOR GEOTHERMAL SITES

by Lanilane Ocbina                        

PGMA has approved the open access of power generation in six geothermal areas as answer to the continUous demand of investors for lower power rates. She told the primary energy  officials that the lowering of electricity should be prioritized.

In the command conference held last monday by the Department o Energy, Sec Peter favila of DTI agreed that the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) needs to cope up with more industrial zones where power generation may be deregulated so that more investors will be attracted to settle in.

Favila implies further that the areas to be put under PEZA may include Mt.Apo in Davao, Tiwi-Albay, Makiling- Banahaw (MakBan), Bago-Negros Occidental, Palinpinon- Negros Or, and TOngonan- Leyte. The power generation in these areas will be dergulated as the distribution will be under the control of the government.

source:http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=83649

environmental impacts

(excerpts from http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/renewable/geothermal.html)

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

The environmental impact of geothermal energy depends on how it is being used.

• Direct use and heating applications have almost no negative impact on the environment.

• Geothermal power plants do not burn fuel to generate electricity, so their emission levels are very low. They release about 1 to 3 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions of a fossil fuel plant. Geothermal plants use scrubber systems to clean the air of hydrogen sulfide that is naturally found in the steam and hot water. Geothermal plants emit 97 percent less acid rain - causing sulfur compounds than are emitted by fossil fuel plants. After the steam and water from a geothermal reservoir have been used, they are reinjected back into the earth.

• Geothermal features in national parks, such as geysers and fumaroles in Yellowstone National Park, are protected by law, to prevent the land from being disturbed.

geothermal manifestations

(excerpts from geothermal manifestations by lanilane ocbina from http://lanilaneocbina.wordpress.com/tag/geothermal-engineering/)

GEOTHERMAL is a term derived from two greek words, GEO that means Earth, and Therme that connotes heat. Thus, Geothermal means the “heat from the earth”

As we all know, the Earth is layered into certain elements. These layers include the crust, the mantle, the outer core, and the inner core.

Extreme heat and pressure is lying beneath the crust. Pressure and complex phenomenon drive the heat away from the center of the earth through GEOTHERMAL MANIFESTATIONS.

Geothermal manifestations can be in the form of volcanoes, hot and cold springs, fumaroles, geysers, mud pools, hot pools, steaming ground and more……..

here are some of the geothermal manifestations from significant geotehrmal spots around the world.

Sorik Merapi Sampuraga                                                   

Mataloko Geothermal prospect

AMAZING MUD VOLCANOES!

HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE HOT SPRINGS?

ITALY- The waters of hot springs were already used by the Etruscan and Romans      (Terme di Bagniolo)

FUMAROLES

geothermal plant

(excerpts from http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/renewable/geothermal.html)

GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS

Geothermal power plants use hydrothermal resources which have two common ingredients: water (hydro) and heat (thermal). Geothermal plants require high temperature (300 to 700 degrees Fahrenheit) hydrothermal resources that may come from either dry steam wells or hot water wells. We can use these resources by drilling wells into the earth and piping the steam or hot water to the surface. Geothermal wells are one to two miles deep.

The United States generates more geothermal electricity than any other country but the amount of electricity it produces is less than 1 percent of electricity produced in United States. Only four states have geothermal power plants:

• California - has 33 geothermal power plants that produce almost 90 percent of the nation's geothermal electricity.

• Nevada - has 15 geothermal power plants.

• Hawaii and Utah - each have one geothermal plant

There a three basic types of geothermal power plants:

• Dry steam plants - use steam piped directly from a geothermal reservoir to turn the generator turbines. The first geothermal power plant was built in 1904 in Tuscany, Italy at a place where natural steam was erupting from the earth.

• Flash steam plants - take high-pressure hot water from deep inside the earth and convert it to steam to drive the generator turbines. When the steam cools, it condenses to water and is injected back into the ground to be used over and over again. Most geothermal power plants are flash plants.

• Binary power plants - transfer the heat from geothermal hot water to another liquid. The heat causes the second liquid to turn to steam which is used to drive a generator turbine.

GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPS

While temperatures above ground change a lot from day to day and season to season, temperatures in the upper 10 feet of the Earth's surface hold nearly constant between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. For most areas, this means that soil temperatures are usually warmer than the air in winter and cooler than the air in summer. Geothermal heat pumps use the Earth's constant temperatures to heat and cool buildings. They transfer heat from the ground (or water) into buildings in winter and reverse the process in the summer.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), geothermal heat pumps are the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean, and cost-effective systems for temperature control. Although, most homes still use traditional furnaces and air conditioners, geothermal heat pumps are becoming more popular. In recent years, the U.S. Department of Energy along with the EPA have partnered with industry to promote the use of geothermal heat pumps.