THE country is assured of over 5,000 megawatts (MW) of additional power-generation capacity from 49 power projects that the private sector has committed for commercial operation anytime starting this year until 2019.
Of the additional capacity, 2,564.28 MW will be produced for Luzon; 486.57 MW for the Visayas; and 1,963 MW for Mindanao.
Coal-fired power plants dominate the list of power projects that will be commissioned, based on the latest data provided by the Department of Energy (DOE) as of June 30 this year.
The total capacity of the various coal power plants that will be put up in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao is expected to reach 3,362 MW. The bulk, or 1,855 MW, will be in Mindanao, followed by Luzon, 1,237MW; and the Visayas, 270 MW.
In Luzon the committed coal power projects targeted for commercial operation this year include the 2×150 MW of Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. in Batangas; the 135 MW of South Luzon
Thermal Energy Corp. in Batangas; and the 82 MW of Anda Power Corp. in Pampanga. The first 150 MW of SMC Consolidated Power Corp.’s power project in Limay, Bataan, will be available by 2016.
By 2017 SMC’s second 150-MW unit will be made available in January, while the 420 MW of Pagbilao Energy Corp. in Quezon will be ready by November. In Mindanao, Sarangani Energy Corp.’s 200-MW coal plant will be commercially available by November this year and Therma South Inc.’s
second 150-MW unit by June.
FDC Utilities Inc.’s 3×135-MW plant in Misamis Oriental and SMC’s 2×150-MW in Davao del Sur are expected to be fired up in 2016.
By 2017 GN Power Kauswagan Ltd. Co.’s 540 MW in Lanao del Norte and Minergy Coal Corp.’s 3×55 MW in Misamis Oriental will be commercially available.
In the Visayas, there is only one coal power project that will be put up. Palm Concepcion Power Corp.’s 2×135-MW power facility in Iloilo will be available in 2016.
Many power firms generate power from coal because it is the cheapest among all power sources. By 2020 former Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla had said that some 23 new coal-fired power plants will be up and running.
“If you look at the cost, coal is the cheapest. But you just don’t want to have the cheapest. You need to have reliability and self-sufficient power source. Moreover, you have to take into consideration the health and environmental factors. The end-goal is to have a fuel mix that does not only take into account the price alone,” Petilla said.
Energy think tank and global consultancy IHS noted the importance of coal as a reliable source of generation. However, overreliance on coal can result in health impacts, and risk of unmet power demand associated with economic loss arising from projects delay.
“If the coal projects are implemented as planned, Luzon’s coal-generation share will be over 75 percent by 2030, and many coal plants will be uneconomic,” IHS warned.
Ideal fuel mix
In the same DOE data, natural gas-fed power plants are next to coal, while the remaining capacity will come from oil-based power plants and power facilities that will utilize renewable energy, such as hydro, solar, wind and biomass.
Based on DOE’s Private Sector Initiated Power Projects, there are 1,150 MW of capacity to be generated from natural-gas plants, all from Luzon.
Energy Wind Corp. targets to put up a 600-MW powerplant in
Pagbilao, Quezon, in November 2017 that will cost $300 million.
First Gen Corp.’s Prime Meridian PowerGen Corp. is ready to fire up its 100-MW San Gabriel Avion power plant in Batangas in September this year. The project costs P10 billion.
First NatGas Power Corp.’s 450-MW San Gabriel power plant Phase II will be put up also in Batangas by June 2016. It costs $600 million.
The country’s only producing gas field, Malampaya, is expected to run out of gas by 2024.
Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, chairman of the House Committee on Energy, said the private sector and the government must work as early as now to ensure the stable supply of gas.
“I am telling you now that we have to resolve our natural-gas infrastructure. We are going to run out of gas, so what do we do with the 2,700-MW gas-fired power plants now being fueled by Malampaya?” he pointed out.
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. and First Gen have announced plans to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from other countries and build their respective LNG import facilities.
LNG is a natural gas that has been converted into a liquid state for easier storage and transportation. Upon reaching its destination, LNG is regasified so it can be distributed through pipelines as natural gas.
IHS strongly believes that LNG plays a critical role in achieving the balanced fuel mix. “With LNG imports, economic and health benefits can be mitigated, share of gas in generation trends up to 30 percent in 2030,” it said.
The DOE is pushing for a 1/3 rule: 30 percent for coal; 30 percent for gas; and 30 percent for renewable energy and the rest will be for other technologies. This is meant to promote a more diverse source of electricity in the Philippines by reducing the country’s reliance on coal-fired power plants.
IHS thus urged the Philippine government to deliver a sound, transparent and workable policy framework to meet the objectives of a reliable, secure, sustainable and cost-effective fuel mix outcome in the power sector.