Three of the most successful business tycoons in the country have come together to establish a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Batangas province.
The project is worth $3.3 billion and is the first and most extensive in the country.
The Philippines is heavily dependent on coal, which accounts for 44 percent of its installed power-generating capacity and is considered dirty.
The government aims to lower this percentage and increase the use of renewable energy such as geothermal, hydro, solar, wind, and biomass. Their target is to achieve 50 percent renewable energy by 2040.
To meet the growing demand for electricity in the Philippines, the Department of Energy (DOE) predicts that the country will need to increase its installed power capacity more than five times to 114,601 MW by 2040. To help meet this demand, three groups have entered into a massive deal.
Manuel V. Pangilinan and Sabin M. Aboitiz have agreed to buy a significant portion of San Miguel Global Power Holding Corp.'s Ilijan gas-fired power plant.
Additionally, they will invest in a new 1,320-MW facility that should be completed by the end of this year. Meralco PowerGen Corp., Aboitiz Power Corp., and SMGP will then purchase almost all of the LNG import and regasification terminal owned by Linseed Field Power Corp.
This is a local branch of the global infrastructure company Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Co., which received the first LNG cargo delivery in the country in April 2023.
The power companies plan to use the facility to receive, store, and process liquefied natural gas.
They will supply the natural gas to two power plants located in Luzon that provide electricity to the area.
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