Green Power recently spoke to Vincent Villegas, VP Business Development at the Energy Development Corporation, about his thoughts on the SE Asian geothermal industry in the run-up to the GeoPower Indonesia & Philippines conference – at which Mr Villegas will be part of the expert speaker faculty.

As the world’s largest integrated geothermal developer, and with four geothermal facilities in the Philippines boasting a total installed capacity of 1149MW, EDC is in the perfect position to discuss the challenges of operating in the region. “The most challenging aspect of project development lies in the uncertainty of resource.” explained Mr Villegas. “The most conclusive manner to determine an area’s potential resource capacity is by drilling wells…In the early stages of project development, the developer is usually forced to absorb all the costs and risks involved in drilling due to the lack of other financing options besides equity.” He also comments that the regulatory framework plays a big role in the timely completion of geothermal projects, this is why EDC continues to partner with the regulatory body to influence and establish stable regulatory frameworks.

To read the full interview, please click here.

To hear more from Mr Villegas, join him and over 30 expert industry speakers and over 200 CEO's, Presidents and senior executives at the GeoPower Indonesia & Philippines Congress and Exhibition. This event is not to be missed – as Mr Villegas remarks: “Indonesia is in the process of harnessing their geothermal resource potential.” The event will provide the perfect opportunity for industry players to share expertise and build the partnerships necessary to develop the burgeoning geothermal power industry in the region.