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MANILA - The Department of Energy on Wednesday said it aims to increase geothermal energy production in the country by 2,000 megawatts come 2020.
At the sidelines of the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Seminar, Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras said experts from Auckland will share the latest technological developments some 30 years after helping the Philippines set up its own geothermal energy program.
The Philippines has since become the world's second biggest geothermal energy producer with an installed capacity of nearly 2,000 megawatts, next to the US' more than 3,000 megawatts, and dwarfing New Zealand, which has over 700 megawatts.
"Both countries have decided to step up that relationship. We are pushing greater interaction in every form. We’re going to bring New Zealand geothermal companies closer to Philippine geothermal companies. We are writing them to come see the opportunities here. They are also inviting to go look at the opportunities there," Almendras said.
New Zealand helped set up the Philippines' geothermal energy program in the 1970s with technical assistance and grants to Manila. Many Filipino engineers were trained at the Auckland University Geothermal Institute under the auspices of the New Zealand Aid Programme.
"New Zealand has world class expertise in geothermal energy and has long standing ties with the Philippines' geothermal industry. In a world that seeks renewable energy sources to meet future demand, this is a natural sector for cooperation between our two countries," New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray S. McCully said.
Besides sharing experience and expertise, companies from the Philippines and New Zealand are well placed "to develop opportunities around the world" such as Indonesia and South America, which have vast geothermal resources that remain untapped, McCully said.
"We actually make up a substantial portion of the geothermal industry in the world so us coming together and deciding to heighten that relationship will hopefully bring in more investments," Almendras said.
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