The consortium behind Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. pulled out of the planned 660-megawatt coal-fired facility in Zambales province.
RP Energy is a joint venture among Meralco PowerGen Corp., a unit of Manila Electric Co., Therma Power Inc. of the Aboitiz Group and Taiwan Cogeneration International Corp.
Aboitiz Power Corp. president Emmanuel Rubio said the company was now looking at the site as a possible gas project in the future.
“We are partners with Meralco and RP Energy and since we have communicated with RP Energy, we will not be building coal anymore, that we are actually reserving that site for possible gas option to supply as CSP [competitive selection process] by Meralco or any other DU [distribution utility] that we have a CSP say for mid-merit and even for an NGCP [National Grid Corp. of the Philippines] provider for ancillary services,” Rubio said.
Meralco PowerGen president Rogelio Singson agreed with Aboitiz Power’s position for RP Energy to move away from coal.
“The site for Redondo may not be for baseload, so maybe for mid-merit LNG which we’re studying with our partners,” Singson said
The development of the RP Energy project was put on hold since 2019 over geological concerns arising from the “instability in one of the slopes” that could affect construction.
It was also delayed by the issuance of a writ of Kalikasan against the project, which was eventually resolved.
Rubio said that for baseload power plants or those that could run 24/7, Aboitiz Power was always looking at the gas option.
“In fact, as we speak we already have a team looking at our gas option. We are doing, on a very early stage, feasibility studies for gas on at least two locations,” he said.
Rubio said Aboitiz Power would later come up with a definitive position on coal.
“DOE came up with a coal moratorium policy and still allowing brownfield coal in certain categories especially super-critical coal moving forward and those with permits to proceed,” he said.
“I think in certain areas in the Philippines, there will be specific niches where coal will remain to be competitive and at the end of the day it, will be still be market forces that will decide that. Will we participate? It’s something that we will continue to look at, but the option that we are really considering particularly in Luzon would be gas,” he said.
Aboitiz Power aspires for a 50-50 share of renewable energy and coal in 10 years, with the aim of bringing renewable capacity to 3,900 MW by year 2029 or 2030.
“We have a 850-MW renewable energy service contract from the DOE, and we will actually start from this and move on as we go in the next 10 years,” Rubio said.
He said they were looking at the renewable portfolio standards and the start of the green energy option program, “so that generators like us will have a venue other than contracting individual customers to participate in auctions when entities that are required to comply with RPS put their markers for future contracts.”
Rubio said most of the company’s future RE projects would come from solar, “but in the end, I think the main constraint of that will be land and I think he who has land will win.”
He said Aboitiz Power had a competitive advantage in hydro power projects where floating solar projects could be put up.
“That’s why we also feel we have a very valuable asset in our reservoirs in hydros in Magat, in Ambuklao, in Binga, where we can consider also putting up a sizable floating solar capacities moving forward,” he said.