The baseload electricity will come from Envent’s 50MW Biliran unit 1 geothermal power plant, which is scheduled to come online in 2012 on the Biliran Island in the Visayas region of the Philippines.
The PPAs were executed with the regional electric distribution cooperatives on the island of Leyte. The cooperatives include Leyeco II, Leyeco 4, Leyeco 5, Dorelco and Soleco. The agreements follow the signing of an initial PPA last June, which committed 5MW of the capability of the unit 1 geothermal power plant.
Together, the agreements with the six off-takers commit 40MW of the Biliran plant’s capacity. The coops that signed the agreements handle more than 300,000 customer accounts, representing a population of about 1.9m on Biliran and Leyte islands, which are connected by a bridge. The remaining 10MW capacity will be offered to the six off-takers, and a portion left for the upcoming Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in the Visayas region.
Envent’s Biliran unit 1 project is located on the island of Biliran in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The project is being executed in collaboration with Biliran Geothermal Incorporated and several other local companies.
Gudmundur Sigurjonsson, CEO of Envent, said: “The execution of those PPAs is a major milestone for the project as the revenue portion of the plant is now mostly taken care of. The negotiation process with the electricity coops was extremely pleasant and we are pleased with the professionalism and business acumen of our local partners. We are now working on the financial structure of the project, which we expect will take between 5 to 10 months to complete.”
