The Department of Energy said Friday the 1,200-megawatt Ilijan natural gas power plant in Batangas resumed supplying power to the Luzon grid on June 1.
It said that with the liquefied natural gas supplied by Linseed Field Corp.’s LNG terminal, the Ilijan natural gas power is now up and running.
“With the delivery of LNG, Ilijan is now supplying power to the grid beginning June 1, 2023, and is expected to improve its contribution to the energy supply in the Luzon grid, especially in the coming months,” the department said.
The Ilijan plant’s power generation capacity is now at 590 MW and is expected to reach full capacity next week, San Miguel Corp. officials said.
“It will provide stable, reliable, 1,200 MW of baseload power to the grid so it will avoid red or yellow alerts,” SMC president Ramon Ang said.
The DOE also welcomed the recent developments on the LNG terminal of First Gen Corp. in Batangas.
“These facilities enable the importation of LNG into the country to support the continuous fuel supply of our gas-fired power plants,” the agency said.
It said the LNG facility constructed by FGEN LNG Corp. scheduled its first LNG cargo delivery window in the later part of the year.
“This will add to and secure the supply of natural gas for its power plants in Batangas,” it said.
The DOE also welcomed the partnership of FGEN and Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. on the lease and operation of FGEN LNG terminal.
“All these developments are positive signals reflecting the continuous interest of the private sector in investing in critical infrastructures that will allow the country to import and utilize imported LNG and complement the available gas from the Malampaya reservoir to meet the country’s growing energy demand,” it said.
“The entry of LNG as a new type of fuel into the energy mix increases diversity and security of our energy needs. It likewise provides the country with fuel and technology that allows flexibility in supporting the various grid demands from baseload to providing reliable mid-merit to peaking power supply,” the DOE said.
It said this flexibility enables the country to further develop intermittent renewable energy technologies such as solar and wind.
