US to help set up geothermal power plant in Mindanao

THE United States plans to construct a geothermal power plant in Mindanao to provide consumers clean energy and cheaper electricity.

A fact sheet released by the White House on Sunday said that US Vice President Kamala Harris will launch new initiatives to strengthen the US-Philippines alliance, including cooperation in the energy sector.

It said that the US Department of Energy, US Department of State and the Philippine Department of Energy will establish an “energy policy dialogue,” a high-level platform for the two nations to develop new forms of energy cooperation, including on short and long-term energy planning, offshore wind development and grid stability and power transmission.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) will partner with the Philippines’ Energy Development Corp. to develop a geothermal project in Mindanao that will “expand access to clean energy, reduce emissions, diversify the Philippines’ energy mix, and bring down energy costs for consumers.”

The USTDA will also support the development of a nickel and cobalt processing facility in the Philippines, which will expand the production of refined nickel and cobalt in the country by 20,000 metric tons per year.

“The project will advance the sustainable development of critical minerals essential to the technologies for the clean energy transition,” the White House said in its website.

The USTDA will open an office in Manila to help American companies and financiers “invest in the Philippine market, supporting the energy and infrastructure needs of the Philippines and the broader Indo-Pacific region.”

“Partnering more strategically with regional financiers will ensure high-quality infrastructure projects are financed and implemented using US technology and expertise, creating mutual benefit among the Philippines, the United States, and the broader Indo-Pacific Region,” the White House said.