LOPEZ-LED Energy Development Company, the country’s largest geothermal energy producer, champions the green energy path through continued forest restoration.
This is through the EDC’s Mt. Apo Geothermal Plant (MAGP) Vegetative Material Reproduction (VMR) Technology, Beej Lagmay, spokesperson said.
Lagmay said the VMR nursery is EDC’s way to reproduce and propagate endangered tree species in the absence of seeds and wildlings.
It uses the process of cloning a single plant organism and producing genetically identical individuals, a method observed in nature when organisms reproduce asexually.
At present, the nursery houses indigenous forest trees in Mindanao, including but not limited to Narra, Molave, Almaciga, Yakal-saplungan, and Hagakhak.
The VMR Nursery is under the EDC’s greening legacy, BINHI, a conservation effort not only in the area of its operations but also nationwide.
At present, EDC was able to propagate about 96 most threatened and premium tree species of the country’s forest trees.
Launched in 2008, BINHI has planted over 6.8 million seedlings in around 10,140 hectares of degraded and open forests in watersheds and protected areas.
For Mindanao alone, it has established 1,452 hectares of plantation and 950,000 seedlings within geothermal conservation and Mt. Apo Natural Park, including Kidapawan City, Magpet, Makilala, Arakan, and Bansalan, Davao del Sur.
MAGP has been able to retain 90% of the forest cover in its area of operation, resulting in a carbon sequestration increment of 972 metric tons per year.
Maria Nancy Ibuna, EDC corporate relations and communications division head, said only 10% of 701 hectares is dedicated to the geothermal operation, while the rest is for reforestation efforts.
“Very deliberate din ang restoration in a way that we prioritize indigenous trees not the exotic kaya mataas ang ating carbon capture,” Ibuna added.
The 701-hectare protected geothermal reservation surrounding MAGP alone is home to 33 mammal species and 177 bird species, including the Philippine eagle.
The 112-megawatt MAGP located at the foot of Mt. Apo, Ilomavis, Kidapawan City, South Cotabato, enables the region to avoid at least 600,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year in lieu of coal.
EDC said its carbon footprint of only 0.02 tons of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour (tCO2/MWh) is much lower than the Mindanao grid’s 0.29 tCO2/MWh.
