SOUTH Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. (SLTEC), a joint venture between Trans-Asia Oil and Development Corp. of the Phinma Group and AC Energy Holdings Inc. of the Ayala Group, announced on Thursday the start of operations of its second 135-megawatt (MW) unit of its coal-power plant in Calaca, Batangas.
Construction of the second unit was completed in the second half of 2015. It was synchronized to the grid on August 15, 2015, and passed reliability and performance tests early this year.
The first unit started operations on April 24, 2015, and achieved gross-generation output of 553.8 gigawatt hours by the end of 2015. The unit is currently under annual preventive maintenance. The commercial operation of the second unit doubles the capacity of the power plant, bringing additional power supply to the Luzon grid.
The cost of the power facility is P23 billion. It is shared by both companies.
Poised to be a significant contributor to the power supply of the Luzon grid, SLTEC will operate it as a base-load plant and will sell its entire capacity to Trans-Asia through a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement.
The power plant provides power for the country’s needs while ensuring environmental-safety standards. It operates within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) parameters and has been issued the necessary environmental compliance certificates by the DENR.
The 2×135-MW power plant in Calaca, Batangas, utilizes clean-coal technology or circulating fluidized bed to reduce emissions and minimize environmental impact.
SLTEC has plans to expand this coal plant by 600 MW more. Data from the Department of Energy (DOE) indicated that SLTEC secured the green light from the agency to proceed with the conduct of a grid impact study on its power plant-expansion project.
There is no timetable yet as to when SLTEC plans to construct the expansion of the existing 270-MW power plant in Puting Bato, Calaca.
When sought for comment, company officials only said, “We just want to study the adequacy of the grid for an additional 600 MW in Calaca.”
The GIS will determine if the electricity to be generated by the proposed power project could be absorbed by the grid or if the existing transmission lines were enough to transmit the electricity from the power plant to the substations.
The study will be done for SLTEC by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), the transmission network operator.
From The Business Mirror
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/sltecs-second-coal-plant-in-batangas-now-operational/