Aboitiz targets switching on Davao, Isabela BESS projects within 3 years

aboitiz davao-magat bess

Aboitiz Power Corporation said that it aims to commence commercial operations of two battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Davao de Oro and Isabela with a total capacity of 69 megawatts (MW) by 2022 and 2024, respectively.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, the firm said that the 49MW BESS project of subsidiary Therma Marine, Inc. (TMI) in Maco, Davao de Oro is 50% complete and is targeted to be in service by the first half of next year. The project is intended to be used for ancillary services (AS).

“TMI’s hybrid BESS is one of the 12 projects with a total capacity of 248MW for regulating and contingency reserves which the Company is targeting to develop in the next [ten] years. It will serve as a model for future battery investments as well as hybrid renewable energy projects,” AboitizPower said in the filing.

Meanwhile, SN Aboitiz Power-Magat’s (SNAP-Magat) 20MW BESS project in Ramon, Isabela, which will also provide AS, is expected to begin operating in the second half of 2024. Among the initial work activities that have been completed, the company, are site surveys and basic engineering design.

In connection with the project, SNAP-Magat also plans to upgrade the Magat-Santiago transmission line, which has been included in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ Transmission Development Plan.

“The benefit of this upgrade is to ensure full dispatch of the Magat power plant capacity, the battery energy storage system, and the proposed expansion in the floating solar,” the firm said.

AboitizPower is also looking to build a 1,000MW gas plant as part of its caseload growth program within the next ten years, “unless a cleaner technology proves to be the more economical option.”

Other projects in the pipeline include the 1,336MW GNPower Dinginin coal-fired power plant in Mariveles, Bataan and the 74MW PV Sinag solar project in Bugallon, Pangasinan.

The company also recently said that it will invest around Php190 billion for the installation of new renewable energy technologies until 2030.