The Philippines is indeed fortunate to be located within the West Pacific Island Arc dotted by Neogene volcanic centers. The multistage development of volcanic-plutonic events in this western part of the Circum-Pacific basin has generated regions of high heat flow where known potential geothermal resources are located.

With the increasing power demands reflecting a favorable growth of the country's economy, the Philippine government embarked on an accelerated program to harness the country's geothermal energy for power utilization at the start of the energy crisis in early 70s.

For a period of 10 years (1972-81), the Philippines has successfully launched a systematic and continuing program of assessing, exploring, developing, and exploiting its vast potential geothermal resources. Of the several potential areas scattered all over the archipelago, four geothermal fields have already contributed some 501 megawatts equivalent to almost 12% of the total electrical power supply of the Philippines.

This paper deals with the geothermal resource development of

End_Page 963------------------------------

the Philippines, a major achievement of a developing country of the Third World in the use of new and renewable sources of energy.

End_of_Article - Last_Page 964------------