August 13, 2018 | 12:07 am By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-editor
MERALCO PowerGen Corp.
(MGen) is not keen on acquiring the coal-fired power plants being offered by
Ayala-led AC Energy, Inc., saying the company’s thrust is towards developing
renewable energy.
“Personally, I’m for
renewables. Ayaw ko ng (I don’t like) old technology,” Rogelio L. Singson,
MGen president and chief executive officer, told reporters in a recent
briefing.
He said MGen, a unit of
distribution utility Manila Electric Co., shares his “personal conviction.”
Should the company decide to build a new coal-fired power plant, he would
prefer one that emits only steam and no particles from its smokestack.
In May this year, AC
Energy announced it was looking for buyers for as much as half of its thermal
energy platform and possibly raise up to $1 billion in part to support its
regional expansion.
Mr. Singson also said
MGen’s decision was in part because AC Energy does not hold a controlling stake
in the thermal projects.
AC Energy has a 20%
stake in the 632-megawatts (MW) GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co.; 50% in
the 668-MW GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co.; 35% in the 244-MW South Luzon Thermal
Energy Corp.; and 85% in the 552-MW GNPower Kauswagan Ltd. Co.
“Minority lang sila,
hindi naman majority (They are a minority, and not a majority
stakeholder),” he said, estimating AC Energy’s stake in the thermal portfolio
at around 43%. “They themselves are selling because they want to shift to
renewables.”
Like AC Energy, MGen
has a stake in a number of coal-fired power plant projects that are in
different stages of development.
Its unit Atimonan One
Energy, Inc. (A1E) is building a two-unit ultra supercritical coal-fired power
plant, each with a capacity of 600-MW in Atimonan, Quezon.
A1E’s PSA with
distribution utility Meralco was submitted to the ERC in April 2016 and had
gone through public hearings, technical working group review and assessment of
the tariff.
Another unit, San
Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co., is constructing a 455-MW facility in Mauban,
Quezon province. The country’s first supercritical coal-fired power plant is
targeted to be completed in mid-2019.
The third project, a
coal-fired power plant under Redondo Peninsula Energy, Inc., has two units,
each with a capacity of 300 MW using the circulating fluidized bed technology.
Mr. Singson said MGen
remains keen on developing renewable power sources, including solar and wind.
In May, Mr. Singson
said the company targets renewable energy to account for at least 20-30% of its
attributable capacity in the coming years. He noted in the next three to four
years, the company aims to develop at least 500-600 MW of renewables.
“I’ll keep it at that
level,” he said, when asked if there were changes in MGen’s targets.
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