Philippine steel manufacturing firm eyes geothermal power offtake

Steel manufacturing facilities of SteelAsia Manufacturing in Davao, Philippines (source: SteelAsia Manufacturing)

SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp. (SteelAsia), the top steel manufacturer in the Philippines, is in talks with GreenFire Energy to supply geothermal power to their manufacturing facilities all over the country. The pronouncement was made by SteelAsia President and CEO Andre Sy following a high-level mission by the US Secretary of Commerce to the Philippines that was joined by GreenFire Energy and about a dozen other American companies.

“When (United States Commerce) Secretary Gina Raimondo came (to Manila), they were part of the delegation. They sought us out, they sought out SteelAsia as a potential off-taker whatever power they can create. I guess we are happy to support it,” recounted Sy.

“SteelAsia benefits from it because we also want to increase our sustainable footprint and geothermal really fits our consumption profile,” Sy further added.

During the bilateral meeting of Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and US President Joe Biden last month, GreenFire said it will implement its letter of intent to supply geothermal power to SteelAsia from its projects in the Philippines.

SteelAsia had recently announced a  PHP65 billion (approx. USD 1.1 billion) manufacturing expansion with the construction of four new plants – two in Tarlac, one in Quezon, and one in Davao. With geothermal able to supply reliable and baseload power, Sy said that it fits the high power demand of manufacturing operations.

“I guess the ball is in their (GreenFire Energy) court to come back to us with a commercial offer,” Sy said.

In late 2023, GreenFire Energy was chosen by Philippine-based geothermal developer and operator Energy Development Corporation for a feasibility study and pilot project on the deployment of GreenLoop technology to revive idle and unproductive geothermal wells. This project will be funded by a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency.

Source: Philippine News Agency