Philippines - A geothermal energy success story

Philippines has become a one of the positive examples of global geothermal energy development, and thanks to geothermal power plants this country today gets 14 percent of its electricity supply, making it the second-largest geothermal energy producer in the world, after the United States. Not only this, the country plans to harness geothermal energy even more in years to come and hopes to become the world’s largest producer of geothermal energy by 2030, by increasing its currently installed capacity from 1,848 MW to 3,293 MW.

The larger scale harnessing of geothermal energy in Philippines started in the late 1970s with the 110-megawatt plant at Tiwi field in Albay province. The country's top six geothermal fields located in the islands of Luzon, Leyte, Negros and Mindanao. The first commercial geothermal energy production in Philippines started at the island Leyte in 1977.

What is the success story of geothermal energy in Philippines?  The secret to success is fairly simple, and it all comes down to very favorable incentives. There is income tax holiday lasting seven years, a 10-year duty-free import period on machinery, equipment and materials, and a 10 percent corporate tax after the end of the seven-year tax holiday. This is of course doing the trick in attracting developers and ensures rapid growth of geothermal energy industry in the country.

It has been said that thanks to its geothermal power plants Philippines saves anually 17 million barrels of fuel-oil-equivalent, which also leads to significant decrease in carbon emissions.