Major Philippines power generator announces end to new coal projects

San Miguel Corp., one of the Philippines’ largest power generators, will drop new coal projects from its expansion plans as it prepares for a transition to a low-carbon future.

“This has not been easy as our country still depends much on reliable and affordable traditional power sources,” the company’s President Ramon Ang said in a Facebook post on Saturday. Still, the nation’s biggest company is “confident” it can effect a transition through collaboration and new technologies, he said.

In April, San Miguel said it is spending more than $1 billion to simultaneously build 31 battery energy storage facilities with a total capacity of more than 1,000 megawatts. The company accounts for 20.7% of the Philippines’ installed generating capacity, only slightly lower than Aboitiz Power Corp.’s 21.3% share, according to government data.

The Department of Energy in late 2020 declared a moratorium on endorsing new coal-fired power plants as the Southeast Asian nation seeks to shift to a more flexible power supply and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030.

The Philippines remains reliant on coal-fired power plants, which account for 41% of its installed capacity. Renewable energy sources have a 29% share, while oil and natural gas account for 17% and 13%, respectively, according to an energy department report in October.

12 July 2021

IEEFA