FIRST GEN ALLOCATES $550-M BUDGET FOR 2022 TO GROW PORTFOLIO
Lopez-led First Gen Corp. has programmed $550 million in capital spending this year, with its subsidiary Energy Development Corp. (EDC) taking the lion’s share.
“EDC will continue to have high capex this year and is planning to spend approximately $266 million to fund its growth initiatives, drilling programs and upgrades,” First Gen chief financial officer Emmanuel Antonio Singson said during the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting held virtually.
The EDC projects cited were the 3.6-megawatt Mindanao 3 binary geothermal power plant in Cotabato; the 29-MW Palayan Bayan binary power plant and the 20-MW Tanawon geothermal power plant, both in Bicol; and “energy storage, low enthalpy geo (low enthalpy geothermal energy), silica extraction, wind energy projects.” A low enthalpy geothermal energy refers to a small-scale geothermal power plant.
Wind and solar
First Gen chair and chief executive Federico Lopez said the group would significantly expand its wind and solar portfolio over the coming years.
“The demand for wind and solar will not just come from grid operators serving large urban areas; it will also come from off-grid communities with little or no access to 24/7 electricity, households looking to cut their carbon emissions, and contestable customers operating commercial and industrial establishments,” Lopez said in his speech.
First Gen will also set aside $135 million to complete the construction of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Batangas City, which is slated to start commercial operations by the fourth quarter of 2022.
“All of the main structural components of the terminal have arrived on-site and installation is ongoing,” First Gen president and chief operating officer Francis Giles Puno said.
The Lopez Group’s power generation company is developing the interim offshore LNG terminal project with Japan’s Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. Once operational, the facility will supply fuel to its four gas-fired power plants in Batangas: 1,000-MW Santa Rita, 500-MW San Lorenzo, 97-MW Avion and 420MW San Gabriel.
First Gen will also spend $50 million for the predevelopment work on the 1,200-MW Santa Maria natural gas power plant, which is also in Batangas, and another $30 million for the maintenance of its existing gas plants.
Puno said the completion of their LNG facility would pave the way for the Santa Maria plant to go online by as early as 2025.
First Gen will also earmark $70 million to continue the development work for the 120-MW Aya Pumped-Storage Project in Nueva Ecija, which it expects to operate in 2025.