Limay power station
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Limay power station is an operating power station of at least 536-megawatts (MW) in Limay, Bataan, Central Luzon, Philippines with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as LPI U3 (SMC LIMAY U3) (Unit 3), LPI U2 (SMC LIMAY U2) (Unit 2), LPI U1 (SMC LIMAY U1) (Unit 1), Limay Greenfield (Units 5 and 6), LPI U4 (SMC LIMAY U4) (Unit 4), Limay Greenfield Power Plant.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Limay power station | Limay, Limay, Bataan, Central Luzon, Philippines | 14.520406, 120.602681 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5, Unit 6: 14.520406, 120.602681
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | operating | coal: unknown | 134 | CFB | 2017 |
| Unit 2 | operating | coal: unknown | 134 | CFB | 2017 |
| Unit 3 | operating | coal: unknown | 134 | CFB | 2018 |
| Unit 4 | operating | coal: unknown | 134 | CFB | 2019 |
| Unit 5 | cancelled | coal: unknown | 150 | CFB | – |
| Unit 6 | cancelled | coal: unknown | 150 | CFB | – |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Limay Power Inc [100%] | San Miguel Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Limay Power Inc [100%] | San Miguel Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Limay Power Inc [100%] | San Miguel Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 4 | Limay Power Inc [100%] | San Miguel Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 5 | Limay Power Inc [100%] | San Miguel Corp [100.0%] |
| Unit 6 | Limay Power Inc [100%] | San Miguel Corp [100.0%] |
Financing
- Source of financing: phase I: US$400 million in debt from DBS Bank, Mizuho Financial Group, Standard Chartered Bank, Siemens Bank, Maybank, Intesa Sanpaolo, CTBC Bank, Bank of Commerce, and MUFG Bank; US$248 million in equity from San Miguel Corporation[1]
Background
San Miguel Corporation (SMC) originally planned to build a six-unit, three-phase coal-fired power plant with a total planned capacity of 900 MW in Limay Province. According to an August 2013 situationer by the Philippines Department of Energy (DOE), the status of the three phases was as follows:[2]
- Phase I: On-going securing of permits and other regulatory requirements; SEC issued last 19 August 2011; Land acquisition completed; On-going electric power supply contract negotiation with prospective off-takers; On-going negotiations for financing arrangements; Target construction July 2013; Project cost is $622M / Php25.5B
- Phase II: On-going negotiation on land acquisition; On-going securing of permits and other regulatory requirements; On-going negotiations for financing arrangements
- Phase III: On-going negotiation on land acquisition; On-going securing of permits and other regulatory requirements; On-going negotiations for financing arrangements
In January 2014, the Manila Standard Today reported that SMC had begun initial construction, and had selected Formosa Heavy Industries as its engineering, procurement, and construction contractor.[3] In August 2014, construction was reportedly well underway, with the company claiming it was on track to complete Phases I and II in 2016 and 2017.[4] In October 2014, SMC placed an order with Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems for steam turbines and generators for Units 3 and 4.[5]
According to the Manila Times, as of May 2015, Unit 1 was planned for 2016 and Unit 6 in 2020.[6]
The project planned to use a combination of local and imported coal, and will include a jetty for receiving coal.[7]
Financing for Phase I was provided by Mizuho Bank, Ltd and Standard Chartered Bank, and SMC CPC’s equity. According to the sponsor: "SMC CPC is required to prepare and submit an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), in accordance with applicable environmental and social performance standards such as Equator Principles (EP), International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards and World Bank (WB) Environment, Health, Safety (EHS) Guidelines, in order to meet the requirements of international lenders.[7]
In February 2016, the company released an environmental and social impact assessment that described the project as 4 x 150 MW in size. It appears that Phase III has been abandoned.[7]
In August 2016, it was reported that construction of the first 150-MW unit was underway with a target completion date of mid-2017. The second 150-MW unit was planned for operation three to four months later.[8]
As of January 2017, the first unit was being tested. The construction timetable had been pushed back, with completion of Unit 1 scheduled for May 2017, and Unit 2 for August. Units 3 and 4 would be completed in 2018.[9]
According to the DOE, Unit 1 entered commercial operation in May 2017 and Unit 2 did so in September 2017.[10]
According to the DOE Unit 3 was scheduled to be commissioned in December 2018, and Unit 4 in February 2019.[11] Unit 3 was commissioned on March 26, 2018.[12] Unit 4 was commissioned in July of 2019.[13]
In April 2023, the DOE list of existing power plants showed that the four existing units had reduced their dependable capacities, from 150 MW down to 134 MW per unit.[14]
Phase I financing
In December 2015, a financing agreement for phase I (units 1 and 2) was closed. US$400 million in loans was provided by DBS Bank, Mizuho Financial Group, Standard Chartered Bank, Siemens Bank, Maybank, Intesa Sanpaolo, CTBC Bank, Bank of Commerce, and MUFG Bank. US$248 million in equity was provided by San Miguel Corporation.[1]
In 2017, the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice lodged a formal complaint against the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for its involvement in Philippine coal-fired power stations. The complaint alleged that the IFC had funded these projects through its financial support to Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC). The Limay power station was one of 11 power stations for which the IFC's involvement was found to be sufficient to trigger the IFC's internal accountability process.[15]
In February 2024, four environmental and human rights groups filed a complaint with a UK government agency against Standard Chartered over its role in financing four coal plants in the Philippines, including Limay power station, Masinloc power station, Davao San Miguel power station, and the Dinginin power station expansion. The Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, Inclusive Development International, Recourse, and BankTrack complaint stated that local communities near the plants "have suffered economic and physical displacement, adverse health impacts, threats and intimidation of community activists" and were seeking compensation for those affected. The complaint requests the National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct (NCP), a government unit responsible for compliance with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, to facilitate dialogue with the complainants and several local community members to resolve the issues.[16][17]
Phase II financing
In June 2017, a financing agreement for phase II (units 3 and 4) was closed. US$913,541,262 in loans was provided by a syndicate of local banks.[18]
Owner Name Change
In February 2023, the name of the plant's owner was changed from "SMC Consolidated Power Corporation" to "Limay Power Inc." [19]
Biomass conversion
In October 2018, SMC announced that it would convert its existing power plants using CFB technology into biomass power facilities, including its coal-fired plants in Limay and Malita.[20] As of May 2021, there had been no updates on the progress of the conversion to biomass other than the initial announcement, and the project appears to be shelved. The December 2020 list of existing power plants released by the Philippines Department of Energy still listed the Limay power station as coal-powered. There were also no listed biomass facilities operated by SMC, nor were any announced or under construction.[13][21][22]
Violations
In December 2016 and January 2017, the Environmental Management Bureau and the Office of the DENR secretary hit SMC with violation notices, stating that the plant's testing operations had potentially resulted in ash spills into a waterway, and that fly ash from the plant had been reported as causing respiratory problems among local residents.[23] SMC said that they were deploying doctors to the local community and that they had "stopped dumping ash".[24][25] In spite of this, the company issued a press release in February 2017 congratulating itself on the low emissions level of the new plant. That report did not mention the pollution problems several months earlier.[26]
Outages and impact on grid
In May 2024, an analysis by the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development found that coal- and gas-fired power plants were the leading cause of blackouts in the Philippines between 2019 and 2023. Over half of the forced outages in that time period were attributable to coal plants. Of the eight most unreliable plants, six were coal plants: Calaca power station, San Buenaventura power station, Masinloc power station, Limay power station, Panay power station, and Pagbilao power station. These power stations each had at least 10 incidents of forced outages. The amount of outages was not consistent with age; Masinloc power station Unit 3, which had only been operating for three years, was reportedly offline for 118 days.[27]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Preview of Limay Coal-Fired Power Plant Phase I (300MW) | Transaction | IJGlobal". ijglobal.com. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ↑ Energy Situationer 2013: Private Sector Initiated Projects, Philippines Department of Energy, 12 August 2013
- ↑ Flores, Alena Mae. SMC readies big coal plants. Manila Standard Today, 20 Jan. 2014.
- ↑ Gonzales, Iris. SMC readies add’l 900-MW capacity. Philippine Star, 1 Aug. 2014.
- ↑ MHPS Receives Order for 2 Steam Turbine and Generator Sets For Coal-fired Power Plant in the Philippines, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems press release, 30 Oct., 2014.
- ↑ "SMC on-track for commercial operation of 900MW Limay power plant," Manila Times, May 4, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Limay Coal-Fired Power Plant Project: Non-technical Summary," GHD, February 2016
- ↑ "SMC Global Power eyes increased capacity," Business World, Aug 16, 2016
- ↑ SMC’s Limay coal plant to start commercial operations by May, BusinessWorld, 25 Jan. 2017.
- ↑ List of Existing Power Plants, Department of Energy, 31 December 2017
- ↑ 2018 Private Sector initiated power projects in Luzon (committed), Department of Energy, Republic of the Philippines, September 2018
- ↑ SMC GLOBAL POWER: ELECTRICITY FOR THE REST OF US, BizNews Asia, Apr. 23, 2019
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 List of Existing Power Plants, Philippine Department of Energy, Dec. 31, 2020
- ↑ List of Existing Power Plants - Luzon, Philippine Department of Energy, April 28, 2023
- ↑ CAO ASSESSMENT REPORT Regarding Concerns in Relation to IFC’s Investment in Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) – 01 (#30235, #32853, #34115, #37489) in the Philippines, IFC Compliance Advisor Ombudsman, April 2019
- ↑ "Standard Chartered targeted in complaint over coal plant funding," Reuters, February 29, 2024
- ↑ "Complaint to UK National Contact Point on Standard Chartered," BankTrack, February 26, 2024
- ↑ "ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 17 OF THE SECURITIES REGULATION CODE AND SECTION 177 OF THE REVISED CORPORATION CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES" (PDF). December 31, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 SMC GLOBAL POWER HOLDINGS CORP. Dec. 31, 2022
- ↑ San Miguel plans power plants’ transition to biomass technology, BusinessWorld, Oct. 4, 2018
- ↑ PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATED POWER PROJECTS (LUZON) - COMMITTED, Philippines Department of Energy, Dec. 31, 2020
- ↑ PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATED POWER PROJECTS (LUZON) - INDICATIVE, Philippines Department of Energy, Dec. 31, 2020
- ↑ Lopez asked to shut down Bataan coal plant, Business Mirror, 19 Feb 2017.
- ↑ Bataan town execs, SMC probe link of ailments with coal plant ash spill, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 9 Jan 2017.
- ↑ Bataan coal-fired power plant’s operation stopped amid complaints of ‘ash fall’, Business Mirror, 9 Jan. 2017.
- ↑ SMC touts low emissions of Limay power plant, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 13 Feb. 2017.
- ↑ Can’t Take The Heat?: Examining the Philippines’ Perennial Power Outages Problem caused by Fossil Fuels, Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, May 13, 2024
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
