Aseagas seeks regulatory nod on biomass plant’s grid connection facility

Aboitiz firm Aseagas Corporation is seeking regulatory approval for a pointto-point limited transmission line that will connect its 8.8-megawatt biomass power facility to the power grid.

It emphasized in its filing with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) that it intends to connect its power project via the 69 kilovolt (kV) Calaca-Nasugbu transmission line of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.

The plant is targeted to kick off with its commissioning phase within this month, although the ERC is still scheduling public hearings on its petition.

The grid connection facility’s project cost will be 12.757 million, according to the project sponsor firm, with the bulk earmarked for supply of labor, materials and equipment.

“The construction of the Aseagas point-to-point project shall be funded internally and externally from a pool of generated funds,” the Aboitiz firm said.

It added that it is “seeking to undergo negotiations with the NGCP as regards the maintenance and operation of the dedicated point-to-point limited transmission line.”

Aseagas has noted that based on the system impact study (SIS) undertaken for the project, the planned point-to-point connection “is technically feasible.”

It added that “evaluation on the thermal loading of transmission line shows that there is no overloading of existing lines that is directly linked to the interconnection of the project plant.”

Aseagas similarly indicated that “the plant can deliver its full capacity to the grid without additional reinforcements needed to be set up by the NGCP.”

The biomass plant is being lined up to be among the renewable energy project that could avail of the feed-in-tariff prescribed for that particular technology type.

The project was initially intended to produce “liquid fuels,” but the collapse in global oil prices reportedly prompted the project sponsor to shift into a powerproducing venture.