Maibarara Geothermal Inc., PetroWind Energy Inc. honored at Asian Power Awards 2024 for outstanding renewable energy operations

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine-based renewable energy companies, Maibarara Geothermal Inc. (MGI) and PetroWind Energy Inc. (PWEI), both members of the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC), received top honors at the prestigious Asian Power Awards 2024 for their exemplary geothermal and wind energy operations. 

MGI was awarded Geothermal Power Project of the Year (Silver) with United Arab Emirates firm National Central Cooling Company PJSC and Indonesia’s PT Pertamina getting the Gold and Bronze awards, respectively. 

PWEI’s Nabas Wind Power Project received dual recognition as Environmental Upgrade of the Year - Philippines, and Wind Power Project of the Year - Philippines.

Other winners in the Wind Power Project of the Year category included Indonesia’s PT PLN Indonesia Power, Korea’s Emeson Yeongheung Power and Australia’s Zenith Energy. Both Maibarara geothermal and Nabas wind projects exemplify the strong socio-economic contributions and environmental sustainability of renewable energy projects of the YGC.

MGI was recognized for its facility’s first decade of continuous operations marked by robust reservoir production, efficient power generation, strong financial outcomes and substantial socio-economic contributions to the local community.

The Maibarara geothermal power facility comprises of the 20 MW Maibarara-1 (M1, COD February 2014) and the 12 MW Maibarara-2 (M2, COD April 2018).  

During its first 10 years of operation, the MGI team increased Maibarara’s P90 reserves more than six times from its 2011 pre-development estimate. 

Assiduous reservoir monitoring ensured timely actions on problems such as reinjection-induced cooling, wellbore scaling, and production drawdown.

Total net generation for M1 during its first 10 years reached 1,554 GWh, whilst the combined M1 and M2 output was 2,077 GWh. The average net capacity factors for M1 and M2 remained impressively high at 93% and 92%, respectively, with availability factors of 97% to 98%. Such efficient plant performance is owed to in-house innovation on turbine blade washing system for scale removals allowing for better turbine efficiency.

MGI’s strong financial outcomes allowed it to distribute its first