Fort Pilar unit to start building plant in Sept

BELGROVE Power Corp. (BPC), a subsidiary of Romero-led Fort Pilar Energy Inc., will start construction of the proposed 60-megawatts (MW) gas turbine power plant in September this year while target commercial operations is expected to happen in May 2023.

In its environmental impact study, BPC said the proposed project timeline is just an estimate, pending the release of its environmental compliance certificate. It is now undergoing detailed engineering works while construction is expected to happen from September to February next year. Project commissioning may happen in April 2023.

The power plant will be located inside the existing non-operational Malaya Thermal Power Plant (MTPP), which was successfully sold to Fort Pillar by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm). The proposed project site is already an industrial zone.

It added that n existing substation of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) could be utilized as “tapping point”.

The company earlier said it was allocating P3.8 billion for the proposed two units of 30MW modular gas turbine engines. The main fuel that will be is diesel and will be sourced locally. It is estimated that about 9.4 cubic meters per hour of diesel fuel is required to run the power plant and generate 60MW.

Fort Pilar wants to produce as much as 3,000MW in power generating capacity in five years.

“We want to be a major player in the industry so we can capture a good market share of 2,000MW to 3,000MW in the next five years. But in terms of energy source, renewable energy will be our focus and baseload capacity is also a consideration,” Fort Pilar Energy CEO Joseph Omar A. Castillo earlier said.