Negros power plant emission standards set

PNOC-Energy Development Corp. signed yesterday with the World Bank an emission reduction purchase agreement (ERPA) for the Northern Negros geothermal power project (NNGP).

 The 49.37-megawatt power project, located in Negros Occidental, will harness clean, indigenous geothermal energy to meet the increasing demand for electricity in the Visayas region.

This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by displacing the equivalent generation of a diesel-fired power plant. In the wake of recent global oil and coal price hikes, reducing the country’s heavy dependence on imported energy and moving towards energy independence has become a top priority concern for the Philippine government.

PNOC-EDC signed an earlier ERPA last year with the World Bank for the Nasulo geothermal power project also located in the island of Negros.

With the current ERPA , all certified emission reductions generated by the project will be purchased by the Netherlands Clean Development Mechanism Facility (NCDMF) with the World Bank acting as trustee.

The ERPA has a contract value of about 7.2 million euros for the guaranteed purchase of a minimum of 929,000 tons of carbon dioxide from NNGP between 2007 and 2012.

The signing of the ERPA with the World Bank is consistent with PNOC-EDC’s goal to live up to its commitment to initiate measures to preserve and protect the environment.