Coal still dominates pipeline power plants

By October 21, 2020 

https://malaya.com.ph/index.php/news_business/coal-still-dominates-pipeline-power-plants/

The total capacity of committed power plants for construction as of end-August hit 7,722.22 megawatts (MW), 24 percent higher than the 6,239.17 MW capacity of committed power plants last year, data from the Department of Energy (DOE) showed.

Power plants are considered committed when they have achieved power supply agreements, financial close, system impact study and other permits from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Coal still has the highest share in committed projects at 3,991 MW followed by natural gas fired power plants with 1,750 MW, oil-based power plants with 425.62 MW, solar with 255 MW, biomass with 179.58 MW and wind with 132 MW.

The increase in this year’s committed power plants came from the inclusion of 989 MW battery energy storage facilities, which were absent from last year.

There were no hydro and geothermal power plants committed this year.

Bulk of the committed capacity are located in Luzon from planned coal-fired power plants with a total of 3,436 MW or 45 percent of the entire list.

DOE’s technology-neutral policy encourages power firms to pursue all types of resources with no cap on the maximum allowed capacity for any type of technology.

DOE believes energy security requires diversification beyond renewable energy with conventional sources like coal playing a key role.

As of end-2019, the country had a total installed on-grid capacity of 25,531 MW, 7,399 MW of which are from RE sources comprised of hydro, geothermal, wind, biomass and solar as coal remained the top power source with a share of 10,417 MW. – J. Macapagal