Nothing to fear about geothermal power plant, says Ormoc Mayor
Ormoc City Mayor Eric Codilla yesterday defended the plan to put up a geothermal power plant in Negros Occidental even as he vouched for the time-tested environmental consciousness of the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) on the project.
EDC established the titans of geothermal power plants in Ormoc, Leyte.
Mayor Codilla was in Bacolod City yesterday as participant of the Island Caravan of the League of the Cities of the Philippines.
Codilla said he has been a resident of Ormoc for 45 years and geothermal plants were operating since the 70s.
He said the plant is financially rewarding for the host barangays, city and even province of Leyte due to the huge real property taxes and other financial benefits and projects generated out of the operation of the power plants.
Codilla said that the cutting of trees is inevitable in the establishment of the geothermal power plant. But it will still be restored through the reforestation projects of the EDC.
"What is good with the geothermal power plant operating in our area is that we have sufficient power supply, even the storms cannot interrupt the power supply sourced from the geothermal power plant. EDC is an expert in geothermal power plants and as an Ormocananon, I could vouch that geothermal power is okay," Codilla said.
Energy Development Corp. (EDC) Leyte Geothermal Production Field (LGPF) is considered as the Geothermal Titan with over 700 MW of geothermal power, beating at the heart of its 107,625-hectare geothermal reservation.
The Leyte Geothermal Production Field is located in Ormoc and Kananga in the municipality of West Leyte.
LGPF is the Philippines' biggest geothermal project and the acclaimed world's largest wet steam field.