Top exec: Aboitiz target of increasing energy capacity by 1,600 MW ‘achievable’

Business Mirror
by Lenie Lectura - September 21, 2015 

ABOITIZ Power Corp. is targeting at further increasing its energy capacity by 1,600 megawatts (MW) in the next four to five years. This is quite achievable, a top official said.

“I believe we can come close. If we don’t, we can come very close to achieving that,” Aboitiz Power Corp. President and COO Antonio Moraza said.

The target was set about a year ago. Since then, the company has been committed to increasing its power-generation capacity to be able to deliver reliable, reasonable and responsible power supply to the country.

“Our beneficial capacity right now is about 2,400 MW, so that’s an additional 1,600 MW to achieve the target. That’s a total of 4,000 MW of beneficial, not attributable capacity, because attributable would be higher,” Moraza added.

The remaining target would be a mix of coal, solar and geothermal energy sources, he said.

“Yes, new geothermal energy between 50 MW and 100 MW, around there. Most of the big geothermal fields in the country, to our knowledge, have already been explored. So, it’s the smaller ones left,” he said.

Increasing the power supply of the country from geothermal sources remains one of the company’s goals in 2015 through its exploration of potential steam wells in Negron Cuadrado and Mount Apo.

It also recently forged a partnership with American company Sun Edison to build solar-power plants in the country. It has also identified roughly 200 MW of potential run-of-river power projects located across the archipelago for the next five years.

Its other power projects include the 420-MW Pagbilao baseload plant in Quezon, which began construction late last year; 68-MW Manolo Fortich hydropower plant in Bukidnon, which will also start construction within the year; and the 600-MW Subic baseload power facility.

“Actually they are all coming up at the same time. Cebu plant is coming up on time and on budget. So, there’s no problem. Pagbilao is also the first quarter of 2018. More or less, the two coal plants will be put up beginning 2018. Bukidnon plant is in the latter part of 2017,” the official said when asked of the status of its power projects. source