Environmentalists oppose gas plants

CEBU CITY – Environmentalists have opposed the planned construction of a 450-megawatt Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant in Cebu and Naga cities citing its hazards to human health.

The Philippine Movement for Climate Justice called on government agencies to reject the proposal by Terra Movers Development Corp. and US-based Westfield Resources; and Aboitiz Power to build the project.

It said the LNG power generation is associated with elevated methane and nitrogen oxide emissions during the combustion process that are associated with a number of respiratory diseases.

Teody Navea, PMCJ-Cebu chapter convener, said the project proposes to build a 300-megawatt LNG in Cebu City and a 150-megawatt LNG in Naga. He said the group assailed the power plant's lack of social acceptability.

Councilor Joel Garganera, chairperson of the Cebu City Council's Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Energy, said they will address the matter raised by the group once they receive a copy of the petition.

Aboitiz Power is eyeing a partnership with a Japanese firm JERA for the development of the 150-megawatt LNG power plant to be located adjacent to its existing diesel-fired power facility in Naga.

Aboitiz Power Corp. is yet to issue a statement on the matter. But in May 2022, its president, Emmanuel Rubio, said the company is considering LNG for Naga, a shift from coal to clean fuel in producing electric power.

Last year, SMC Global Power Holdings, the power arm of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), said it will be investing in a 600-megawatt LNG power plant on Mactan Island in Cebu to provide baseload power to the grid.

Located specifically in Lapu-Lapu City, the project will cost between $1.5 and $1.7 million per MW, for a total of $900 million to $1.2 billion. The power plant will be built in a leased 26.16-hectare area leased from Keppel Cebu Shipyard Land, Inc. and the National Development Company. 

Construction of the plant would take around five years beginning in the third quarter of the year while testing and commissioning is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023. Commercial operations are slated for the second quarter of 2024. 

“The project aims to help augment demand for reliable and affordable power supply. Other than being able to provide electricity to households and businesses, it will be contributing to national development,” SMC Global Power subsidiary Converge Power Generation Corporation (CPGC) said in its filing with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. 

Data from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Power Development Plan shows that the country’s power demand will grow five percent a year and will reach 49,287MW by 2040. 

“The 600 MW additional capacity will support the program of the DOE in ensuring stable power supply for the Philippines,” CPGC added.

SMC Global Power is also working on a 300MW LNG combined cycle power plant in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, which is currently facing environmental and economic concerns from local stakeholders and energy advocacy groups. The diversified conglomerate is also working on another 600MW LNG plant project in Tabango, Leyte worth P41.5 billion. (John Rey Saavedra, Cebu Examiner)