Philippines

Aboitiz Power Corp. will build four new power generation facilities to add 354 megawatt to the Mindanao grid by 2015.

Meralco posted a 5-percent increase in its consolidated core net income to P3.4 billion in the first quarter from P3.3 billion last year.

Meralco announced that said it is engaging various stakeholders on discussions on its proposed Smart Grid roadmap.

The Board of Investments has approved two coal-fired power projects with total investments of P62.328 billion that would add 735-megawatt capacity to the national grid.

RP government looks into coal power plant to address power shortage in Mindanao.

More foreign firms are taking interest as the project, tagged as the largest single-contract geothermal power project to date comes operational by 2015, said a member of the consortium.

One of the largest renewable energy projects in the Philippines has caught the attention of at least 10 foreign investors.

The solar power subsidiary of the Philippines’ largest conglomerate prepares to foray into an already oversupplied photovoltaic panels sector.

The Malampaya plant, which supplies fuel to three major power stations, will be temporarily shut in July for regular maintainance work.

Renewable energy projects demand huge investments and a pioneering Philippine program supporting RE will continue.

Officials of South Cotabato in southern Phlippines are considering the proposal to establish a nuclear power plant in the province.

The Philippine feed-in tariff rules issued in July 2010 is being prepared for revision by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Mindanao will shut down three Agus-Pulangi power plants for a month beginning on April 17 to undergo repairs and rehabilitation.

The TEPCO and Marubeni joint venture is exploring 10 renewable energy projects in the Philippines.

Japanese joint venture firm TeaM Energy has been exploring at least 10 areas in Luzon and Visayas for prospective renewable energy projects. In a briefing with reporters, TeaM Energy president Federico E. Puno noted that his company’s interests are generally focused on hydro, biomass and geothermal energy developments. The sites it has been evaluating for prospective RE projects include those for mini-hydro in San Juan, La Union; Tabuk-Kalinga; Tuba-Benguet; and Mountain Province. The larger-scale hydro targets are in Tuba, Benguet’s site at the tailings pond of Philex Mining Corporation. Incidentally, the company is currently a capacity off-taker (buyer) of TeaM Energy’s excess capacity in the Sual plant. The rest of the hydro prospects are in various sites in Luzon and Visayas. Geothermal developments, according to the company chief executive, are eyed for the sites being evaluated in Mountain Province and Mount Natib in Bataan Daclan, also in Benguet province. The company has listed two biomass sites being studied in Unisan, Quezon and San Ildefonso, Bulacan. Puno noted that they are currently “awaiting feasibility study from proponent” for the Quezon prospect; while a meeting with another interested party is being scheduled for the Bulacan target. “There were areas that we’ve already looked at, but we have already abandoned some of them because the potential had not been viable for development,” the TeaM Energy chief executive stressed. For the hydro developments, some areas are currently the subject of feasibility studies; while others are already at the process of awarding turnkey contracts leading to the actual construction of the projects. TeaM Energy is among those expressing interests to join the bandwagon of RE investments; but it is one which would be willing to bet on these projects even without the support of feed-in-tariffs. The company noted that it can work on cornering its own market for such developments as long as the other hurdles, such as the sustainability of fuel for biomass projects, can be sufficiently addressed.  

The time frame for improving the electricity transmission system in the Philippines has been extended from 10 to 15 years.