MANILA, Philippines – The country will have over 5,000 megawatts (MW) of additional power generation capacity from 49 power projects that the private sector has committed for commercial operation any time until 2019.
The president of the Philippines said the new power stations are needed to meet demands for energy but leading Filipino politicians have argued that coal is one of the biggest contributors to climate change.
Many developing countries see coal as a relatively cheap option of power generation and the Philippines is planning a total of 23 new power plants.
Coal currently generates about 42 per cent of electricity in the Philippines, with the remainder coming from locally-sourced natural gas and renewables.
The share of cola in the country’s energy mix could rise to about 70 per cent in a few decades, according to some estimates.
President Benigno Aquino said that cutting the use of coal in favour of gas was not an option because of a lack of gas-importing facilities.
He said that the Philippines had increased its share of renewables but costs have limited their development.
Majority of the new capacity will come from coal power plants despite the Department of Energy (DOE) pushing for a 1/3 rule in terms of an energy mix of 30% for coal, 30% for gas, and 30% for renewable energy, with the rest from other technologies.
Of the additional capacity, 2,564.28 MW will be produced for Luzon, 486.57 MW for Visayas, and 1,963 MW for Mindanao.
Coal plants
Based on the latest data provided by the DOE as of June 30, the total capacity of the various coal power plants that will be put up is expected to reach 3,362 MW.
Majority of this will be in Mindanao at 1,855 MW, followed by Luzon at 1,237 MW, and the Visayas at 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 Corporation, the 135 MW of South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation in Batangas, and the 82MW of Anda Power Corporation in Pampanga.
The first 150 MW of SMC Consolidated Power Corporation’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 Corporation in Quezon will be ready by November.
In Mindanao, Sarangani Energy Corporation’s 200-MW coal plant will be commercially ready by November this year and Therma South Incorporated’s second 150-MW unit by June.
FDC Utilities, Incorporated’s 3 x135-MW plant in Misamis Oriental and SMC’s 2 x150-MW in Davao del Sur are expected in 2016.
By 2017, GN Power Kauswagan Ltd. Co.’s 540-MW in Lanao del Norte and Minergy Coal Corporation’s 3×55-MW in Misamis Oriental will be commercially available.
Visayas only has one coal power project in the works, Palm Concepcion Power Corporation’s 2 x135-MW power facility in Iloilo, which is expected to be available in 2016.
By 2020, there will be 23 new coal-fired power plants up and running, former energy secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla confirmed previously.
