Dinginin power station

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Dinginin power station is a proposed 1,336-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station on the Bataan Peninsula, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.

It is also known as an expansion of the Mariveles Power Plant.

Location

The map below shows the location of the Dinginin plant site, in Alas-asin Barangay, Mariveles Municipality, Bataan Province. The existing Mariveles plant is located immediately to the west.

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Existing Mariveles power plant

The existing Mariveles Power Plant is a two-unit, 600-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station on the Bataan Peninsula, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, owned by GNPower. The project consists of two 300 MW units using subcritical boilers. The plant went online in April 2013.[1]

New units: Dinginin power station

In 2013 plant owner GNPower said it planned to expand the power station by an additional 1,200, for a total of 1,800 MW. The initial Phase II, two additional 300-MW units, are planned to be completed by 2017 or 2018.[2][3][4] Phase III, an additional 600 MW, is targeted for 2022.[4]

According to an August 2013 situationer by the Philippines Department of Energy (DOE), the status of Units 3 and 4 is as follows:[2]: On-going presentation/proposal submissions to potential customers; Obtained LGU endorsements; BOI registration for 600 MW pre-approved; On-going SIS; On-going EIS for ECC application; Arrangements for securing the required land will be acquired by an affiliate Filipino company of GNPower; On-going negotiation with tenders; On-going finalization of EPC Contract; Commercial operation by 2018; Project cost is $1B.

In November 2014, Ayala announced plans to borrow $1.6 billion to finance construction of the Mariveles plant and the PsagCorp power station. The company hopes to finalize investments for the expansion in 2015.[5]

In October 2015, it was reported that GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd Co. was seeking to raise as much as US$1 billion by year-end to start construction of the first unit of the expansion in 2016. AC Energy Holdings Inc. president and CEO John Eric T. Francia said that financing would be in the form of loans. Francia said the company will "sign soon" an EPC contract. It was reported that the project had received clearance to undertake a grid impact study (GIS) on June 26, 2013, and had secured the necessary local government unit (LGU) endorsements in March 2015.[6]

In 2016 it was announced the plant would be 2 x 668 MW, and known as the Dinginin power station. Construction on the first unit began during 2017. Unit 1 is planned for 2019. The technology will be supercritical. Coal will be imported.[7][8]

According to the GNPower website, "The GNPower Dinginin Plant will initially consist of a 1 x 668 MW supercritical coal-fired power plant (with a one-time expansion option for an additional 1 x 668 MW supercritical unit) that will utilize an Alstom steam turbine generator."[9] Photos from December 2017 show one unit under construction. In late December, In May 2018, one report stated that AboitizPower "is building a 668-megawatt generator in Bataan."[10]

In December 2017, GNPower Dinginin was reported to have achieved financial close for the second unit, with US$1.7 billion provided by Philippine Banks.[11] Despite the closure of financing, as of June 2018 there are still no reports that Unit 2 has begun construction.

In February 2019 the Department of Energy issued a certificate of national significance to the project in order to streamline permitting and construction.[12] In April 2019 Aboitiz announced that Unit 1 would be commissioned in November 2019.[13] In August 2019 the DOE listed a target commissioning date of June 2020 for Unit 1 and September 2020 for Unit 2.[14]

Ownership

The project sponsor, GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd., is jointly owned by U.S. company Sithe Global Power (owned by the Blackstone Group) and the Philippine Ayala Corporation; Ayala acquired a 17.1 percent state in the project for $155 million in December 2012.[15][16]

In October 2016 the Philippines' AboitizPower acquired stakes held by Blackstone Group LP for US$1.2 billion. The acquisition involves a 66.1 percent indirect interest in both the existing Mariveles Power Plant and the Dinginin expansion.[17] In December 2016 an affiliate of Aboitiz Corporation completed a purchase of Sithe Global's interest in Dinginin Station.[18] In May 2019 Aboitiz acquired Ayala's share of the project, giving it a total ownership stake of 70.0%.[19]

Financing

In January 2011, China Development Bank provided a US$493 million direct loan for the project, which the China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation guaranteed.[20]

According to a January 2016 report, AC Energy Holdings signed an agreement with five banks for 70-percent of the project’s funding; the equity portion will be shared 50-50 with their project partners GN Power and American investment fund Sithe Global. All funding is contingent on regulatory approvals, especially that of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The project is scheduled for 2019, assuming construction starts in 2016. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor is Shanghai Electric Power Corporation.[21] In December 2017 GN Power secured financing for the plant's second unit from Philippine banks, but did not disclose these banks' names.[22] The total cost of the project is estimated to be US$1.7 billion.[22]

Public opposition

The organizations Coal-Free Mariveles Movement and Bataeños for Environmental Justice have protested the proposed expansion at local hearings, together with what has been reported as strong opposition from local communities.[23]

In October 2017, protesters in Manila called on the Bank of the Philippine Islands to stop financing numerous coal-related projects, including the Dingimin coal plant.[24]

Project details

  • Sponsor: GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co[25]
  • Parent companies: Aboitiz Group 70%, Sithe Global 30%
  • Location: Diningin, Mariveles Municipality, Bataan Province, Luzon, Philippines
  • Coordinates: 14.424599, 120.540992 (exact) - location of Mariveles plant[26]
  • Status: Unit 1: Construction, Unit 2: Permitted
  • Nameplate capacity: 1,336 MW (Units 1-2: 668 MW)
  • Type: Supercritical
  • Projected in service: Unit 1: 2020; Unit 2: 2020
  • Coal Type:
  • Coal Source: Imported
  • Source of financing: Five banks for 70-percent of the project’s funding; the equity portion will be shared 50-50 with their project partners GN Power and American investment fund Sithe Global

Articles and resources

References

  1. ↑ "Sithe Global" Mariveles Station, accessed December 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Energy Situationer 2013: Private Sector Initiated Projects, Philippines Department of Energy, 12 August 2013
  3. ↑ Alena Mae S. Flores, "600-MW coal plant connected to the grid," MST Business, Feb. 14, 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Iris C. Gonzales, "Mariveles to host 3 power plants," Philippine Star, 23 June 2015
  5. ↑ Rivera, Danessa. Ayala Corp. to borrow $1.6B for Luzon, Mindanao coal-fired power plants. GMA News, 17 Nov. 2014.
  6. ↑ Danessa O. Rivera, "GN Power raising $1 B for Bataan coal power plant," Philippine Star, October 14, 2015
  7. ↑ "GNPower taps financing for power plant," The Manila Times, Sep 5, 2016
  8. ↑ "Dinginin Station," Sithe Global, accessed Dec 2016
  9. ↑ "GNPower Dinginin," Ayala website, accessed June 2018
  10. ↑ Ronnel W. Domingo, "Aboitiz sets P62-B capex for 2018," Inquirer, 21 May 2018
  11. ↑ "BRIEF-Ayala Corp Announces Financial Close of GNPower Dinginin Unit 2," Reuters, 11 December 2017
  12. ↑ GNPower plant gets priority status, Manila Standard, Feb. 14, 2019
  13. ↑ Additional power supply seen in November, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Apr. 22, 2019
  14. ↑ PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATED POWER PROJECTS (LUZON) COMMITTED, Philippine Department of Energy, 31 Aug., 2019
  15. ↑ Doris C. Dumlao, "Ayala Corp. acquires stake in Mariveles coal-fired power plant," Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 17, 2012
  16. ↑ "Sithe Global" Mariveles Station, accessed December 10, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Philippines' AboitizPower to buy power plant stakes for $1.2 bln," Reuters, Oct 4, 2016
  18. ↑ Dinginin Station, Sithe Global, accessed November 2018
  19. ↑ AboitizPower completes acquisition of AC Energy, May 3, 2019
  20. ↑ "GNPower Mariveles: Chinese lenders abroad," IJ Global, 11-04-2011
  21. ↑ Myrna Velasco, "Ayala raising $1 billion for Mariveles coal plant expansion," Manila Bulletin, January 14, 2016
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 GNPower Dinginin secures bank financing for second unit, BusinessWorld, Dec. 13, 2017
  23. ↑ Group bucks GN coal power plant expansion, Headline Gitnang Luzon, 27 Jan. 2014.
  24. ↑ Activists protest financing of coal projects, Business Mirror, 5 Oct 2017.
  25. ↑ "Approved Coal Plants in the last two years," Greenpeace, accessed December 2013
  26. ↑ "GN Coal Power Plant, Alasasin, Mariveles, Bataan," Wikimapia, accessed December 2013

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