The fiscal incentives provided by the Renewable Energy (RE) Act of 2008 has drawn the attention of Chevron Geothermal Philippines Holdings Inc. (CGPHI) as it considers putting up geothermal power facilities in the Philippines in the near future.

"Before the enactment of the RE Act, we were not looking into other areas probably for the last 20 years. We felt then that the fiscal environment is not attractive to develop a greenfield project. But with the RE Act, we are actually very interested in evaluating new prospects given its good fiscal incentives," CGPHI President and General Manager Antonio Yee told reporters in a recent interview.

The RE Act is said to be Asia's first and most comprehensive RE law, and is seen to spur the development of alternative energy resources such as geothermal, biomass, wind, solar, and hydro. Specifically, the Department of Energy (DOE) is expecting to double power production in the RE sector to 9,000 megawatts by 2013.

The law offers incentives for prospective investors in the RE sector, including a 7-year tax holiday and duty free importation of equipment, among others.
 
Aside from the construction of new geothermal facilities, Yee said CGPHI is eyeing to bid for geothermal blocks that the DOE will offer. At present, he said the company is still identifying which geothermal areas to explore.

"Maybe what we'll do is wait for the next geothermal contracting round and see if there is any good prospect. Then certainly, we'll be open and interested," he said.