Following the successful delivery of the 3.6 MW Mindanao 3 Binary Power Plant in 2022, First Balfour turned over another binary power plant project to Energy Development Corporation (EDC) with the completion of the 28.9MW Palayan Binary Power Plant in Manito, Albay. Inaugurated last July 5, the two-billion project now boosts the overall power generation capacity of the existing 130 MW Bacman Geothermal Plant.
Palayan Binary aerial view
Awarded with the Balance of Plant (BOP) contract in November 2020 and the Fluid Collection Reinjection System (FCRS) and Connection Assets (CA) works the following year, First Balfour has had over a thousand workers at peak during project execution. Despite this substantial manpower count, the project team recorded over six million safe man hours without lost time incident (LTI), the highest number of safe man h ours logged by an ongoing First Balfour project in recent years. This monumental feat was recognized by the Safety Organization of the Philippines (SOPI) which awarded the project with an Award of Distinction for two consecutive years.
L-R: EDC Business Development Head Marvin Bailon, First Balfour Managing Director for Commercial Operations Malcolm Lorimer, First Balfour Business Development Head for Building & Power Manuel Joram San Luis, Construction Manager Jeune Ace Tagaza, Construction Manager Danilo De Leon, Project Manager Rio Franco, First Balfour Managing Director for Construction Operations Rey Villar, EDC Vice Chairman and CEO Francis Giles Puno, EDC President Jerome Cainglet, First Balfour Energy Sector Head Benjamin Dublin, Project Manager Honorato Dalawampu, First Balfour Head for Commercial Management Irwin Castro, Project Manager Alfredo Maninang, Jr., and First Balfour Deputy COO Jose Valentin Pantangco, Jr.
While the team was able to deliver the project safely, there had been numerous challenges during its execution including design changes, additional requirements, varying ground and weather conditions, and the added complexity of it being awarded during the height of the pandemic. All these factors affected productivity, the sequence of works, and ultimately, the entire project duration.
Nevertheless, by adopting mitigation measures to minimize repercussions, the team ensured that works remained on track thereby enabling First Balfour to help EDC energize the plant in April 2024. In his message, EDC President Jerome H. Cainglet shared, “I know that we learned a lot from M3, but there were even more learnings that we picked up in the course of Palayan. We have so many other projects (with First Balfour) Mahanagdong, Tanawon, and Bago so let’s work even more closely together, identifying problems early, and working together towards a solution. Congratulations to the whole team, to EDC and First Balfour, for this wonderful piece of infrastructure. Let’s go and build more.”
First Balfour Deputy Chief Operating Officer Jose Valentin A. Pantangco, Jr. highlighted, “It comes at a very opportune time, a very critical time, in terms of our own state of the grid of the country that is always on yellow or red alert. We are indeed very grateful for being part of this and truly, a commitment on our end to be a genuine collaborator with EDC and with the whole group to bring projects like this into the future so that we make a difference in our country.”
Now complete and fully operational, the Palayan Binary Power Plant is yet another testament to how the First Philippine Holdings group advances its mission of forging collaborative pathways for a decarbonized and regenerative future.
