LGU-ORMOC TOGETHER WITH EDC UNVEIL THE 26-foot-tall redesigned geothermal wellhead monument displayed atop the Simangan Rotonda in Barangay San Pablo, Ormoc City on October 18, 2024. The unveiling was a part of the city’s 77th Charter Day festivities, wherein the monument symbolizes the partnership between EDC and the City of Beautiful People. “With this monument, we pay homage to a remarkable industry that has served our city and our country these past 46 years,” said City Mayor Lucy Torres Gomez.
The monument not only highlighted EDC’s four decades of partnership toward a progressive Ormoc City but also recognizes the city’s role in promoting a decarbonized Philippines as the home of the world’s largest geothermal steam field.
On the other hand, EDC Vice President and Head of Corporate Strategy and Planning Ryan Velasco highlighted EDC’s ongoing projects to further expand the company’s geothermal operations in Ormoc City. “Aside from our current geothermal facilities in Ormoc City and Municipality of Kananga, we target to operate our 28 MW Mahanagdong geothermal binary plant and our Battery Energy Storage System by this December,” he said. “On behalf of our mother company, First Gen Corporation, and us in EDC, we thank Mayor Lucy Torres Gomez and Cong. Richard Gomez for this recognition and for fully supporting our goal of going full steam ahead in growing our geothermal portfolio,” Velasco added.
Accordingly, the monument serves as a powerful symbol of geothermal energy’s significant contribution to the country’s renewable energy landscape. As the ‘holy grail’ of renewable energy, geothermal power is unique in its ability to provide clean, reliable energy around the clock, using the wellhead structure to control the steam harnessed beneath the earth to generate electricity for homes and businesses. (By Gwen Maurillo / EV Mail October 14-20, 2024 issue)