THE PHILIPPINES is looking to access an initial $100 million for the first tranche of the Geothermal Resource De-Risking Facility managed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Department of Energy (DoE) said.
The loan is worth $250 million overall, to be drawn down in two or three tranches.
“It’s possible that our first tranche is $100 million. That’s what we’re looking at. We want to make sure that the private sector can absorb the facility offering,” Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevara told reporters on the sidelines of the ADB Asia Clean Energy Forum on Tuesday.
According to the ADB website, the project will be funded by $190 million from ADB’s ordinary capital resources and $60 million from Association of Southeast Asian Nations Catalytic Green Finance concessional funds.
The project seeks to address the risks faced by prospective geothermal power investors.
Ms. Guevara said the preparation of the geothermal de-risking facility is in the “final stages and we hope that next year it will be in place with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK).”
The DoE is in talks with the state-run bank to be the possible facility manager.
Energy Assistant Secretary Mylene C. Capongcol said the project awaits the approval of the Investment Coordination Committee of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development.
As of 2023, the Philippines had installed geothermal energy capacity of 1,952 megawatts (MW), making it the third-biggest geothermal producer behind Indonesia and the US.
In February, the third green energy auction, which covers geothermal, attracted bids for 30.887 MW, well below the 100 MW target. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante