Geothermal energy company Energy Development Corporation (EDC) has announced it is leveraging weather forecast data from IBM’s The Weather Company (TWC) to help make better decisions for the operations of its power plants in areas prone to natural hazards such as landslides and typhoons.
Access to advanced and accurate weather insights has helped EDC, which operates 12 power plants in the country, understand the risks of extreme weather and decide whether or not to keep the plants operating through the hazard or implement a shutdown and secure strategy.
The 15-day hourly forecasts on demand from TWC allows EDC to better predict potential hazards such as floods and landslides and take preventive measures to help ensure employees’ safety and protect critical assets.
The hyper-local weather data, delivered by IBM Cloud, also allows EDC to deep dive on how it can effectively supply energy to power Philippine businesses regardless of weather conditions.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report, extreme weather, climate action failure and human-led environmental damage are the top three most likely risks for businesses in the next decade.
OCHA’s Global Climate Risk Index 2021 included the Philippines as among the countries affected by recurring catastrophes, and the Asian Development Bank estimates that Philippines stands to lose 6% of its GDP annually by 2100 if it disregards climate change risks.
“Unbridled consumption and primacy of bottom-line growth are at the root of the climate crisis, and we today need a stable supply of power that also keeps our Mother Earth healthy and happy,” said Federico R. Lopez, chairman and chief executive officer of EDC.
“By leveraging weather and hyper-local insights to improve the efficiency of our decisions and operations, EDC is proving how purposeful innovation and partnership can lead to sustainable management of our renewable geothermal resource.”
TWC services and IBM’s Environmental Intelligence Suite (EIS), which brings AI and geospatial analytics together with weather data and new innovations from IBM Research for climate risk analytics and carbon accounting, are delivered to industries across the world by Filipino talents from the IBM Client Innovation Center in the Philippines.
“We have seen an increase in intensity of weather extremes, in part due to climate change, which is disruptive to business operations,” said Aileen Judan-Jiao, president and country general manager of IBM Philippines.
“Today, EDC is not only supplying naturally sourced renewable energy to our country’s national grid, but it is also demonstrating how technology can improve business operations in a more sustainable way.”
