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MANILA - Chile has invited Filipino companies engaged in geothermal exploration and development to help the South American country tap its energy resources, the Department of Energy said on Thursday.
Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras said Chilean officials expressed interest in Philippine expertise in geothermal power during recent bilateral talks between the two countries.
"They acknowledged the fact that the Philippines is the world’s second already in geothermal but they also mentioned that they believe that the Philippine experience and Philippine technology is more appropriate for Chile than that of the US for good reason," Almendras said.
Chile's geothermal capacity is estimated at around 16,000 megawatts largely because these resources are underdeveloped.
In contrast, the Philippines, the second largest geothermal energy producer in the world next to the US, only has around 2,600 megawatts of untapped geothermal resource left based on figures from the DOE.
To help Chile develop its geothermal sector, Almendras said Chilean officials will "send some people over to see the regulatory framework we have."
"They want to know how we give out geothermal contracts, what has to be done, and all that," he added.
In exchange, Chile called on Filipino companies that are involved in geothermal power to look into potential projects in the South American country.
The Philippines' largest geothermal firm, Lopez-controlled Energy Development Corporation, has already started exploring prospects in Chile, where the company controls three concession areas and has pending applications for four more.
"EDC is already there. They’re talking to them already so it’s just a matter of kung baga gusto ng Chile na madagdagan yung mga pumupunta dun sa kanila," Almendras said.
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