LEGAZPI CITY: The Energy Development Corporation's (EDC) 28.9-megawatt (MW) Palayan Binary Geothermal Power Plant (PBGPP) in Manito, Albay is expected to become a major contributor to the country's power supply, particularly to the Luzon grid, a Department of Energy (DOE) official said on Friday. The PBGPP is a reliable geothermal 24/7 protection on the energy security because sometimes, the coal-fired power plants experience outage, DOE Assistant Secretary Mylene Capongcol said at a press conference after the inauguration of the PBGPP. EDC president and chief operating officer Jerome Cainglet said in his message that the project is their contribution to the country's baseload target for renewable energy, in line with the DOE's goal of expanding renewable energy use. "The Palayan Binary Project is likewise our contribution to our country's conditional target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2030. The project is expected to help the Philippines avoid 72,200 metric tons of carbon emissio ns each year," he said. Cainglet added that the PHP7-billion project operated by EDC's wholly-owned subsidiary Bacon-Manito Geothermal, Inc. harnesses the thermal energy of brine, a by-product from EDC's 120-MW Palayan Bayan 1 flash geothermal power plant to generate electricity without the need for additional steam. "It employs a zero-discharge system that ensures brine and other fluids are efficiently re-injected into the reservoir, minimizing environmental impact," he added. The PBGPP is part of the expansion of the existing 140-MW Bacon-Manito facility and is synchronized with the Luzon grid. Source: Philippines News Agency