Power plant and thermoeconomics modelling of low- to intermediate-temperature geothermal resource in Montelago, Philippines

Abstract

The growth of the geothermal industry in the Philippines remains slow despite the initiatives of the government. Based on the study made by the Philippines’ Department of Energy, one of the major factors affecting the growth is the high cost of development for low-to-intermediate temperature geothermal resources. To provide a deeper understanding of this cost, we performed power plant modelling and thermoeconomics modelling for a prospective geothermal power plant in Montelago, Philippines. The models in this report were used to determine the following: the optimal power output of the system, the cost of the power plant development, the minimum cost of electricity generation, and exergetic evaluation. The model indicates that the cost of installed power to develop the Montelago geothermal prospect is 3574 USD/kWe and the minimum cost of electricity generation and the break-even point is 6.22 USDcents/kWh and 8.26 USDcents/kWh, respectively. This suggests that further development of the prospect could be economical.