Coal demand expected to rise with new power plants coming onstream

Posted on November 21, 2016
http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=coal-demand-expected-to-rise-with-new-power-plants-coming-onstream&id=136605

THE Philippines’ coal consumption could increase by 2 million to 3 million metric tons (MT) this year as new coal-fired power plants came online, an industry official said, as he projected the country’s demand for the fossil fuel to increase by around 2 million MT until 2020.

“The normal increase is 1.5 to 2 million [MT] annually,” Arnulfo A. Robles, executive director of the Chamber of Coal Mines said in an interview on the sidelines of a recent coal business and policy forum.

Last year, the country consumed 22,006,401 MT of coal, with power generation accounting for 79.77%, cement for 15.22% and other industries cornering the rest, figures from the Department of Energy (DoE) show. The country imports most of its coal requirements from Indonesia.

“Coal is the least-cost option for power -- really competitive,” Mr. Robles said.

Early this year, the Alcantaras’ Alsons Consolidated Resources, Inc. began the commercial run of the first 105-megawatt (MW) section of its 210-MW coal-fired baseload power plant in Maasim, Sarangani under subsidiary Sarangani Energy Corp.

In February, the second unit of Abotiz-led Therma South, Inc.’s 300-MW circulating fluidized-bed coal-fired plant in Davao City went online. The plant’s first unit started operating in September 2015.

This month, FDC Misamis Power Corp. secured the certificate of compliance for the first two of the company’s three identical units of 135-MW circulating fluidized bed thermal plant, paving the way for its commercial operation.

The second 105-MW unit of Alsons’ Sarangani plant is expected to go into full-blast construction by early 2017. In the second half of next year, the group will start building San Ramon Power, Inc.’s 105-MW baseload coal-fired power facility in Zamboanga City.

FDC Misamis said the certificate for the plant’s third unit might be obtained “as soon as testing and commissioning are completed. It has undergone provisional acceptance and is operational.”

Aside from these southern plants, Luzon has its share of coal-fired power plants under construction.

Meralco Powergen Corp. (MGen), the power generation arm of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), is co-developing a 455-MW supercritical coal-fired power plant in Mauban, Quezon under San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. It is also developing a two-unit supercritical coal power plant in Atimonan, Quezon each with a capacity of 600 MW under Atimonan One Energy, Inc.

The Ayalas’ AC Energy Holdings, Inc. is also co-developing coal power plants in Luzon and Mindanao. Its 552-MW GNPower Kauswagan Ltd. Co. in Lanao del Norte and 668-MW GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. in Bataan are set for commercial run in March 2018 and March 2019, respectively, based on schedule submitted to the DoE.

Mr. Robles said with the upcoming new coal power plants, the country should be needing around 2 million MT more of coal each year until 2020.

“On the average, around 2 million up to 2020,” he said, when asked about his forecast annual increase. “[That’s] consumption. That includes local production and importation.” -- Victor V. Saulon