Published
By Myrna M. Velasco
Lopez-owned First Gen
Corporation is eyeing capacity hike on its planned two new gas-fired power
projects – with higher efficiency gas turbines becoming a ‘differentiating
factor’ in such investment proposition that will advance into fruition along
with its targeted US$1.0 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) onshore terminal.
First Gen President
Francis Giles B. Puno indicated that they are currently looking at the new
HL-Class turbines of long-term contractor Siemens AG, the turbines supplier and
also the operations and maintenance (O&M) service provider of their three
existing gas-fired plants.
“We will go for the
more efficient turbines – it is in excess of 1,000 megawatts,” he said –
that is relative to potential higher per unit capacity of the HL-Class turbines
that the German firm is already prepping for rollout in power markets globally.
The proposed Santa
Maria and Saint Joseph projects of First Gen were originally targeted then at
414-megawatt capacity each, similar to the San Gabriel plant. But if these two
future projects will be equipped with the higher efficiency turbines, the
capacity for combined cycle installation could go as high 577MW per unit.
“It is more efficient
and even more flexible than San Gabriel flex plant, Puno said, noting that this
will be highly important given the government-sanctioned massive integration of
renewables in the system with the enforcement of the Renewable Portfolio
Standards (RPS) policy.
With HL Class combined
cycle turbines, the efficiency rate is at 63-percent and can go as high as
65-percent; and the ramp up rate could be at 85 megawatts per minute, entailing
that it could immediately fill supply gap when intermittent renewables would be
out from the system.
“Within the next five
years, we hope to build two more gas-fired power plants, Santa Maria and Saint
Joseph, to complete our vision for the First Gen Clean Energy Complex in
Batangas,” Puno said.
First Gen Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer Federico R. Lopez stressed “our natural gas-fired
platform represents the country’s best bet to keep our lights on in the
transition to the all-renewable future so needed by the planet.”
He vouched that
“gas-fired plants have only one-third to one-fifth the carbon emissions of coal
plants per kilowatt-hour produced, they’re more flexible and ramp up much
faster too – and today, they’re even more competitive than coal at all modes of
operation: be it baseload, mid-merit or peaking.”
Gas is the investment
sphere in the energy sector wherein the Lopez group is in a leading position,
hence, it will be taking this notch higher with the well-anticipated expansion
of gas markets in the Philippines. Its other preferred investment segment is on
renewables.
“First Gen is best
positioned and is confident to take the lead with our natural gas and renewable
energy portfolio,” Puno reiterated.
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