A R T U R O A L C A R A Z

"FATHER OF PHILIPPINE GEOTHERMAL DEVELOPMENT

1916-2001
Arturo Pineda Alcaraz is also known as the (Philippine) Father or Geothermal Energy
Development because of his contributions to Philippine volcanology. He graduated
from Mapua Institute of Technology with a degree in Marine Engineering in 1937 . He
then finished his Master of Science in Geology at the University of Wisconsin in 1941.
Later on, in his career as a volcanologist, he went to the University of Berkeley to
undergo intensive training and education and received a Certificate in Volcanology
with the help of the Philippine Commonwealth government.
ALCARAZ AND GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Doctor Arturo Alcaraz pioneered in generating electricity by means of geothermal steam among
areas proximate to volcanoes. His main contribution was the study and establishment of
geothermal power plants in the Philippines and in the 1980s, the Philippines attained the
second-highest geothermal generating capacity in the world, in great part due to Alcaraz's
contributions.

With a vast and extensive knowledge on volcanoes in the Philippines, Alcaraz explored the
possibility of harnessing geothermal steam to produce energy.

He succeeded in 1967 when the country's first geothermal plant produced much-needed
electricity, ushering the era of geothermal-based energy to power up homes and industries.

In 1967, Arturo Alcaraz and team powered an electric light bulb using steam-powered electricity.
Power came from a volcano near the town of Tiwi. This was the first geothermal power
generated in the Philippines. Pioneered in generating electricity by means of geothermal steam
among areas proximate to volcanoes.

The Commission on Volcanology was officially created by the National Research Council in 1951,
and Alcaraz was appointed Chief Volcanologist, a senior technical position he held until 1974.

Along with his colleagues, he was able to set up a working model in Tiwi, Albay. It was in this
position that he and his colleagues were able to prove that energy could be generated by
geothermal energy.

A steam from a one-inch hole drilled 400 feet to the ground powered a turbo-generator which
lighted up a light bulb. It was a milestone in the Philippines' quest for energy self-sufficiency.
Thus, Alcaraz carved his name in the global field of Geothermal Energy and Mining."

Alcaraz was the 1982 Ramon Magsaysay Award recipient for government service for his
scientific insight and selfless perseverance in guiding Filipinos to understand and use one of
their greatest natural resources.
Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. It's clean and sustainable. Resources
of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few
miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of
molten rock called magma.