Therma Visayas’ 150-MW Cebu coal plant excluded from moratorium—DOE

By Alena Mae S. Flores – January 31, 2024, 9:05 pm
from manilastandard.net

The Department of Energy (DOE) said Wednesday said Therma Visayas Inc.’s planned 150-megawatt coal expansion in Toledo, Cebu is exempted from the coal moratorium imposed in 2020.

It said that item 2(b) of the coal moratorium policy exempts existing power plant complexes which already have firm expansion plans and existing land site provision.

“The DOE verified that the TVI’s 150-MW Unit 3 expansion project is covered by the said provision. The project is part of the expansion of the existing circulating fluidized bed coal plant (units 1 and 2) of TVI in Toledo City,” the agency said.

It endorsed TVI’s 150 MW expansion to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines for a system impact study.

TVI’s parent firm Aboitiz Power Corp. wants to pursue the expansion to address the growing demand for power in Cebu.

Aboitiz Power president and chief executive Emmanuel Rubio said last year the proposed expansion was excluded from the coal ban and has an existing environmental compliance certificate.

Rubio said they were weighing their options whether to pursue the coal plant or put up a 150-MW liquefied natural gas plant in Cebu as they would have different costs and financing options.

“Cebu needs capacity. On a day-to-day basis, a number of diesel plants are still running in Cebu. So that means that baseload capacity is short,” Rubio said.

“We’re looking at a baseload of 150 MW to add to our current 300 MW in TVI,” he said.

He said Cebu would need an additional capacity by 2026 to 2027.

“It’s not that power is not available. It’s that expensive plants are running, so they need to be displaced by cheaper technologies,” Rubio said, adding that solar power is limited in Cebu due to its hilly terrain.