STO. TOMAS CITY, BATANGAS – At the
height of the nationwide Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) where keeping the
lights on is essential, AP Renewables Inc. (APRI) MakBan Geothermal Power Plant
managed to resume operation of its Binary Power Plant 11, located at Barangay
Sta. Elena, Sto. Tomas City, Batangas, again contributing an additional 2.1 MW
net of power to the Grid.
The Binary
Plant 11, which was producing 1.45 MW of power was recommended for shutdown
last March 6, 2019, as its operation resulted in a 7-MW decrease in the overall
performance of the MakBan complex load. Operating the
Binary Plant 11 causes a pressure drop in the system which curtails the
production of steam for the entire geothermal network.
A binary
plant, unlike a conventional geothermal power plant that runs on steam,
utilizes waste heat from spent geothermal brine to run the turbine prior to the
injection of the brine to the underground reservoir.
APRI MakBan
Operations & Maintenance (O&M) and Asset Management (AMT) teams
coordinated their efforts to ensure the conversion of the waste heat energy in
the brine fluids is optimized to a value that is commercially reliable.
“I’m glad we
were able to address the pressure drop problem and resume operations again.
This 2.1MW of power is sufficient to power one barangay. This is needed to keep
the lights on in homes and
in health centers during the ECQ,” Janaurio Maralit, Vice President for MakBan Facilities
said.
APRI
continues to implement specialized geothermal technology, including steam path
modification and gas removal system to improve steam usage at the plant level.
APRI’s
geothermal facilities have generally operated at par or better than industry
standards. The company routinely evaluates and implements various projects
while improving coordination with its steam supplier, the Philippine Geothermal
Production Company to improve efficiency levels and counteract the challenges
of a declining steam supply.
APRI, a wholly owned subsidiary of
AboitizPower, is one of the leading geothermal energy producers in the country.
It delivers clean and renewable baseload power with two facilities that it
operates in Tiwi, Albay; Bay and Calauan, Laguna; and Sto. Tomas, Batangas. ###
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