Lapaz, Iloilo City- Global Business Power Corp. is expanding its power generation portfolio in the Visayas to include hydro and biomass power plants with more than 100 megawatts of combined capacity.
Global Business Power executive vice president Jaime Azurin told reporters here during the Panay Energy Development Corp.’s inauguration that the biomass plant would be located in Negros.
Azurin said the company was also looking at possible expansion of a coal facility in Negros and Iloilo but further developments would depend on social acceptability and transmission line availability.
“We have the available land here to put up additional capacity if and when it is needed,” he said.
Azurin said the company would have to determine whether to build a greenfield or entirely new coal power plant or simply expand the Iloilo power facility.
“This is something that we have to weigh,” he said, adding that any expansion would be driven by demand.
Panay Energy, a subsidiary of Global Business Power, on Tuesday inaugurated a 150-MW expansion project in Barangay Ingore, La Paz, Iloilo City. Global Business Power owns a total of 854 MW through its subsidiaries.
The 150-MW clean-coal power plant is the largest single generation unit in the Visayas and is projected to provide adequate, reliable, clean, and cost-efficient power to the residents and businesses in the region.
The P15.6-billion coal plant expansion project is Global Business’s latest investment in the province. It invested a total of P20 billion for Panay Energy’s first two 82-MW clean-coal plants in 2011.
“By providing adequate power supply, we are fueling the growth of industries and the availability of jobs in Panay, thereby providing a viable alternative to the already congested Metro Manila,” Global Business chairman Jose Maria Lim said.
“We are hopeful that in supporting the accelerated growth in Panay, particularly in Iloilo, we are contributing to the government’s quest for sustainable and inclusive growth in all areas of the country,” said Lim.
“We are proud to be able to respond to the region’s growing energy requirements and contribute significantly to its baseload capacity,” said Global Business Power president Rolando Bacani.
Bacani said that because of its size, Panay Energy would be able to offer a good rate in the market because the expansion project had lesser operating cost.
“We can expect efficient use of fuel from a single larger plant of 150 MW that is equipped with the latest circulating fluidized bed boiler technology,” he said.