The Energy Development Corporation (EDC) could become the world’s largest generator of renewable geothermal energy within the next three years due to its accelerated growth since 2007.

EDC is 60 percent controlled by First Gen Corporation, the Philippines’ largest vertically-integrated independent power producer, and is the country’s biggest generator of geothermal energy. It produces 1,199 megawatts (MW) of geothermal energy annually
from production geothermal steam fields located throughout the country. The company is the second-largest generator of geothermal energy in the world after the giant energy multinational Chevron. Chevron produces 1,273 MW of geothermal energy annually.

If acquisition plans for additional capacity push through in this year and next, EDC can potentially leapfrog its much larger competitor to become the world’s largest producer of geothermal energy.

This year, EDC will participate in the bidding of three state-owned geothermal power plants with a combined generation capacity of 455.5 MW – increasing the company’s total capacity to approximately 1,650 MW. The company also plans to develop approximately 600 MW of additional geothermal capacity on its own over the next decade.

EDC is also studying the feasibility of harnessing Indonesia’s untapped 20,000 MW of geothermal power, expanding the company’s presence regionally.

The government is selling its power generation assets as part of a privatization plan intended to attract investment into the sector.

The Philippines is the largest producer of this renewable clean energy in Asia. According to the International Geothermal Association (IGA), the country ranks second only to the US in geothermal energy production.

The Philippines is the largest consumer of electricity from geothermal sources in the world, and has been considered a model of alternative energy provision for developing countries for close to a decade.