Meralco PowerGen Corp. hopes the Department of Energy will decide by mid-June on its request for an exemption from the coal ban for the 1,200-megawatt Atimonan ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant.
MGen has been seeking clarification from the DOE on its decision to recall its exemption from the coal ban for the Atimonan coal plant in Quezon province, pending additional review.
MGen president Emmanuel Rubio informed the DOE the project could be delayed by up to 18 months if no decision is made soon.
“The options for OEM for the steam turbine is telling us that we need to make a decision soon, otherwise the slot in the fabrication shop might be given to another order,” Rubio said.
“Doesn’t mean it will be canceled; it means it can be delayed. They’re saying anywhere between 12 to 18 months. … I hope by June 15 there will be a decision,” he said.
Rubio earlier said MGen aims to deliver the baseload capacity by late 2029 or early 2030, “in time for us to participate in the baseload capacity auction that the DOE is planning for December.”
“Our commitment is that the LCOE (levelized cost of energy) of this is going to be probably one of the most competitive and it’s needed, the capacity is needed,” Rubio said.
He said MGen had already agreed to the conditions set by the DOE when it issued the exemption, which include repurposing the coal plant by 2050 to burn another type of fuel.
He said if MGen does not comply with the conditions, it cannot operate the coal plant.
“We’re looking at technologies like ammonia co-firing as long as it’s viable, right? Then we will consider. So even in the discussions with our EPCs (engineering, procurement and construction), we are already asking them to make sure that the boiler can co-fire ammonia,” he said.
Rubio said another DOE condition is to maintain all existing permits and not change the plant’s configuration.
