MANILA, Philippines – Basic Energy Corp. plans to develop two to three renewable energy (RE) projects to bring in additional revenues while it is still in the process of developing geothermal prospects, its top official said.

The company needs to develop other RE projects that “can bring in important short-term revenue” to the company, Basic Energy president and COO Oscar de Venecia Jr. said after the company’s stockholders’ meeting late Wednesday.

“All of our projects right now are long term in gestation period. We’re looking at projects that can bring immediate impact to the bottom line of the company,” he said.

Solar is seen as the “fastest from shovel to operations,” De Venecia said, noting they have three properties they are looking at: San Fabian and Bolinao in Pangasinan and Labason in Zamboanga del Norte.

These locations are ideal for business development since they are already owned by the company, the company official said. The Bolinao property is seen to accommodate a 27-megawatt (MW) solar project, San Fabian with 15 MW and Labason with 14 MW.

Last March, Basic Energy partnered with German-backed solar developer nv vogt Singapore Pte. Ltd. to look at the potential of undertaking a solar project in one of those properties.

These potential projects can help the company in reaping revenues while drilling in its geothermal assets. In the first six months this year, De Venecia said the company is in the negative since it is “transitioning from oil and gas to power generation.”

“We decided transition was best done through geothermal. Case in point, geothermal takes time. Development has exploration, very different from solar. We have to find the resource first. It takes time before it becomes fruition,” he said.

Currently, the company has five geothermal service contracts, namely the Mabini Geothermal Service Contract in Batangas, East Mankayan Geothermal Prospect in Ifugao, Mt. Mariveles Geothermal Project in Bataan, Mt. Iriga Geothermal Project in Albay and West Bulusan Geothermal Prospect in Sorsogon.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/business/2016/07/03/1598844/basic-energy-looks-solar-additional-revenues