ENEX Energy Corp., together with its joint venture partner, is “in very advanced stages of development” of the P60-billion, 1,100-megawatt combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Batangas City.
ENEX and US-based Blackstone Inc. portfolio company Gen X Energy LLC are jointly developing Batangas Clean Energy Inc., the project company of the natural gas power plant.
“That’s in very advanced stages of development, and we believe it can participate in the upcoming CSP [competitive selection process] of Meralco [Manila Electric Co.] for instance,” ENEX chairman Eric Francia said.
Francia said, however, that while ENEX’s parent company ACEN was supporting the joint venture company, “ACEN has already committed to only invest in 100-percent RE [renewable energy].”
“I just want to make it clear that it is not the intent of ACEN to invest in the construction equity of a gas-fired power plant because we already committed to become 100-percent RE generation by 2025,” Francia said.
“What it means is that ENEX will have to source, together with its partner, for the capital once the project gets to financial close,” he said.
Francia said the BCE project is not yet in financial closing, and it is looking to win a long-term contract given the volatility of fuel prices.
“It is very risky to invest in a merchant, uncontracted gas power plant. It would need a contract with a reasonable pass-through mechanism and so forth,” Francia said.
“We would like nevertheless for the project to succeed. We will exert all efforts to make sure the project gets fully-funded and that would be the role of ENEX to play and we have various options,” he said.
Francia said the country needs reliable baseload generation which can come from gas-fired power plants because of the moratorium on new coal power projects.
“Realistically, for us to really address the country’s energy needs, we are still growing at a 5 to 6 percent annual growth. We would need a combination of RE, energy storage and new gas-fired power plants,” he said.
ENEX, formerly ACE Enexor Inc., is a subsidiary of ACEN Corp. It acquired a 50-percent stake in BCE in 2021.
The project will be built on a 24-hectare onshore land and 15 hectares of foreshore area in Barangay Libjo and Barangay Malitam, Batangas City.
The project is estimated to cost P60 billion to construct based on filings with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.