SMC Global Power Holdings, the power arm of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), will be investing in a 600-megawatt (MW) liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant on Mactan Island in Cebu to provide baseload power to the grid.
Located specifically in Lapu-Lapu City, the project will cost between $1.5 and $1.7 million per MW, for a total of $900 million to $1.2 billion (Php47.2-Php63 billion). The power plant will be built in a leased 26.16-hectare area leased from Keppel Cebu Shipyard Land, Inc. and the National Development Company.
Construction of the plant would take around five years beginning in the third quarter of the year while testing and commissioning is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023. Commercial operations are slated for the second quarter of 2024.
“The project aims to help augment demand for reliable and affordable power supply. Other than being able to provide electricity to households and businesses, it will be contributing to national development,” SMC Global Power subsidiary Converge Power Generation Corporation (CPGC) said in its filing with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Data from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Power Development Plan shows that the country’s power demand will grow five percent a year and will reach 49,287MW by 2040.
“The 600 MW additional capacity will support the program of the DOE in ensuring stable power supply for the Philippines,” CPGC added.
SMC Global Power is also working on a 300MW LNG combined cycle power plant in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, which is currently facing environmental and economic concerns from local stakeholders and energy advocacy groups. The diversified conglomerate is also working on another 600MW LNG plant project in Tabango, Leyte worth Php41.5 billion.
Last year, the company said it will focus more on LNG and renewable energy projects following the government’s moratorium on the building of new coal power plants.