Power firm Constellation Energy Corp. (CEC) will develop areas around its 20-megawatt (MW) geothermal power project in Barangay Montelago, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, into a hot spring and wellness center to effect a fusion of green energy and green tourism.

“Yes, power, tourism and health rejuvenation can mix. This is possible with renewable-power energy. The relation of nature and people can be mutually beneficial,” said CEC Chairman Jose P. Leviste Jr.

CEC, a new player in the power sector, along with partner-companies Emerging Power Resource Holdings Inc. (EPRHI) and Dutch company IF Technology, has recently started to work on the Mindoro geothermal project, which has the potential to generate up to 70 MW of electricity. The CEC-EPRHI-IF Technology project is scheduled to be commissioned in 2014.

Apart from providing power needed by a booming island, Leviste said the hot spring and wellness center would become an entirely new attraction for Mindoro, now known for its world-class beaches and resorts to include Puerto Gallera.

“The hot spring resort will boost Oriental Mindoro’s economy and tourism,” Leviste said, noting that although a law was passed declaring the Montelago hot springs a tourist resort, the place has not developed much over the years due to lack of investors willing to pump in money in the remote barangay.

Dr. Antonie de Wilde, EPRHI project chief executive officer, said the development of the Montelago hot spring and wellness resort will put Naujan on vacationers’ list of destination hubs in the country.

“One could potentially develop a whole line of wellness and health products from the geothermal field and steam,” he said, citing the well-known Blue Lagoon Spa in Reykjavik, Iceland, where geothermal seawater—with its minerals, silica and algae—is tapped to provide a rejuvenating spa.

Mineral baths in hot springs are known to induce health benefits to include treatment for hypertension, relief for rheumatoid arthritis, treat skin inflammations and fungal infections, effect detoxification, and relieve stress.

Silica is a key ingredient of many health and beauty products because it is known to rejuvenate the skin, resulting in youthful appearance and feeling. Known as a “beauty mineral,” it serves as a skin and bone-tissue builder as well.

The geothermal project of the CEC-EPRHI-IF Technology consortium is seen to lower power cost of power in the island-province. Island grids like Oriental Mindoro, isolated by sea from the main grids, are mostly plagued by high power rates because of the high cost of diesel or bunker fuels.

Until the introduction of renewable-energy sources that include wind, solar, biomass and geothermal power, the isolated grids have to rely on expensive gas-powered turbines, Leviste said.

CEC-EPRHI-IF Technology consortium is developing the Montelago project under a Geothermal Renewable Energy Service Contract granted by the Department of Energy.

De Wilde said the geothermal project would provide baseload capacity with as much as 90-percent availability. Once the Montelago plant is operational, he added, it would be a big factor in providing a reliable and secure source of power and in stabilizing retail electricity rates in the island-province.

The Philippines is the second-highest producer of geothermal power, next only to the United States. Situated in the so-called ring of fire, the country has vast geothermal potentials.

CEC, together with its technical and financial partners, is one of many companies and groups identifying and developing geothermal steam fields. Other than the Montelago project, CEC is also developing other energy projects in Biliran province and Negros Island.

(As published on Business Mirror)