The Philippines aims to regain the second spot worldwide in terms of geothermal energy production as the government shifts to renewable energy (RE), with the help of a PHP10.7 billion de-risking facility.

In her speech during the 7th Philippine International Geothermal Conference in Lipa City, Batangas on Thursday, Energy Secretary Garin said the country has a potential 2,100 megawatts (MW) geothermal energy to be explored and developed.

To date, the country has around 2,057 MW installed geothermal capacity, accounting for around 6.4 percent of electricity generation in 2025.

Garin said that while the country currently places third in the world, after the United States and Indonesia, there is a chance to improve since the Philippines has the biggest geothermal facility in Asia, referring to the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plant at the boundary of Kananga, Leyte and Ormoc City.

“Under the leadership of President Ferdinand (R.) Marcos Jr., our goal is clear to regain that position by accelerating exploration in frontier areas and bringing new geothermal capacity into development,” she said.

The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Land Bank of the Philippines signed a memorandum of agreement in December 2025 for the USD170-million Philippine Geothermal Resource De-Risking Facility, financed through a sovereign loan from the Manila-based multilateral lender.

The facility provides capital for geothermal exploration. Once the exploration project proves successful, the funding will be treated as a loan, but if it fails, it will be considered a grant.

Garin, in a briefing on the sidelines of the event, said the funding is adequate to boost domestic geothermal capacity by around 300 MW, with the projects to be assessed first by the DOE.

Department of Energy (DOE) Chief Science Research Specialist Rainier Halcon, during the same briefing, said a public consultation will be held by October to inform interested parties about the facility, with a call for proposals also set for next month.

Halcon said the actual drilling implementation is expected to begin by 2028 as the first call for proposals is needed next month.

“If we finish the 300 megawatts (additional installed capacity) to be supported by the de-risking facility, hopefully, we’ll be at number two –as long as the Indonesian power plants are not online,” he said.

“Based on our projections, the de-risking facility will help those priority projects reach their commercial date by at least three years earlier. So if our target within this de-risking facility is from 2028 until 2033, then add (an) additional three years after that period, they should already have a power plant.”

Garin said the current derisking facility fund level is enough for now to increase the share of geothermal power in the energy mix to the “ideal level” of 10 percent.

“I think if we do it (the assessment and eventual operation of the projects) properly, and most of these are successful, we won’t have a problem accessing other funds,” she added. (PNA)