First Gen Corp. remains interested in pursuing the 1,200-megawatt Sta. Maria natural gas-fired power plant in Batangas.
In its annual report released on Monday, First Gen Corp. looks to supply both baseload and mid-merit power to the Luzon grid.
According to First Gen, the project will use the latest gas turbine in the market to maximize efficiency and provide more capacity with minimum fuel.
The Sta. Maria project was earlier scheduled operational either late this year or early 2025. First Gen has not provided an updated timeline.
In 2022, the company allotted USD50 million as capital expenditure for pre-development works on the project.
“The ongoing efforts on the project enable the company to be in a better position to make such power plant available in time to meet the expected growth in grid demand and further help stabilize the grid by complementing intermittent renewables with more natural gas plants,” First Gen said in a regulatory filing.
Earlier this month, First Gen identified areas around its hydroelectric power plant complex in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija as potential sites for developing solar and wind farms as well as a battery energy storage system.
First Gen operates the 132-MW Pantabangan-Masiway and the 165-MW Casecnan which are both hydroelectric power plants.
It aims to grow total capacity to 13,000 MW in the next six years and spend as much as USD20 billion until 2030.
First Gen said the project pursued the most for development relates to the pumped-storage hydroelectric project at the Aya Dam located within the Pantabangan-Casecnan complex costing P6 billion and generating between 100 to 120 MW worth of electricity.
The regulatory approvals secured, the company will proceed with construction taking an estimated 36 months.
First Gen has combined capacity of 3,666 MW from a portfolio using natural gas, geothermal, hydroelectric, wind and solar power technologies.
