Lanao Kauswagan power station

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{{#badges:CoalSwarm|Navbar-Philippinescoal}} Lanao Kauswagan power station is a proposed 540-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station in Lanao del Norte Province, the Philippines.

Location

The map below shows the plant's site, in Libertad & Tacub Barangays, Kauswagan Municipality, Lanao del Norte Province.[1]

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Background on Plant

GNPower Kauswagan, a joint venture of the Ayala Corporation and shell company Power Partners Ltd. Co., is building a four-unit coal-fired power plant with a total planned capacity of 552 MW in Lanao del Norte Province.[2] In May 2014, Ayala put the cost of the plant at US $1 billion.[3] In July 2017, the cost of the project to date was estimated by one observer to be US $2.5 billion.[4]

GNPower began site clearing work in August 2013, having signed an agreement for sale of 330 MW of power from the plant to Power Supply Aggregation Group Corp. (PSAGCorp), a group of Mindanao electric cooperatives.[5] Environmental permits for the project were issued in March 2014.[6]

In May 2014, GNPower signed an engineering, procurement, & construction (EPC) contract with Shanghai Electric Power Construction, a subsidiary of Power Construction Corporation of China.[3] The final financing agreement was signed in December 2014, with a syndicate of domestic and international banks.[7] The state grid operator, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, announced plans in January 2015 to build a new 230-kilovolt transmission line to connect the plant.[8] Construction on the plant is slated to begin in early 2015, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017.[7]

In July 2015, the project appeared to be entering construction. AC Energy Holdings president Eric Francia told reporters, “For Kauswagan, we have made the financial commitment. We have started the project. The engineering design is ongoing [and we just want to] clear the property... We are hoping to go full blast in a month or so.”[9]

In July 2016, AC Energy Holdings announced that it secured funding for Unit 4 of the plant. The project will be funded by 70 percent debt from domestic and foreign banks, plus 30 percent equity.[10]

In October 2019 the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) approved the purchase of shares of three subsidiaries of Ayala Corporation’s energy division, AC Energy Inc., by US-based holding company Proverbs 16.[11]

Delays in commissioning schedule

As of February 2017, Unit 1 was scheduled to come online in Q4 2017, and Units 2 & 3 in 2018.[12] In November 2017 it was reported the power station would be completed in 2018.[13]

As of September 2018 construction of all four units was scheduled to be complete by December 2018, with Unit 1 scheduled to come online in March 2019, Unit 2 in May 2019, Unit 3 in June 2019, and Unit 4 in August 2019.[14]

In March 2019 it was reported that the units would be commissioned in May, July, September and October respectively.[15] Unit 1 was commissioned in June 2019.[16] Unit 2 was commissioned in July 2019.[17]

Citizen Opposition

July 2015: Coal Resistance Movement (CORE) march passes through Linamon, Lanao del Norte, Philippines (photo by Richel V. Umel, InterAksyon.com

In a march organized by the Coal Resistance Movement, an estimated 300 people walked 92 kilometers across Lanao del Norte province to protest the Lanao Kauswagan power station and a proposed 20 MW coal plant inside the La Farge cement factory in Kiwalan, Iligan City. The march passed through the towns of Lala, Tubod, Kolambugan, Bacolod, Kauswagan, and Linamon, culminating in Ilgan City in front of La Farge. The group of marchers, which included school children, sought to draw attention to the effects of the plants on the rich marine environment resources of Panguil Bay and Iligan Bay.[18]

Project Details

  • Sponsor: GNPower Kauswagan
  • Parent company: Ayala Corporation (AC Energy Holdings)
  • Location: Libertad & Tacub Barangays, Kauswagan Municipality, Lanao del Norte Province, Philippines
  • Coordinates: 8.18691, 124.11545 (exact)
  • Status: Units 1-2: Operating; Units 3-4: Construction
  • Gross Capacity: 540 MW (Units 1-4: 135 MW)
  • Type: Subcritical
  • Projected in service: 2019
  • Coal Type:
  • Coal Source:
  • Source of financing: Syndicate of domestic & international banks, including the World Bank's private-sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC)[7] and the Bank of China[19]

Articles and resources

References

  1. GNPower Kauswagan begins Lanao del Norte coal-fired power plant construction, Iligan City website, 29 Aug. 2014.
  2. 552-MW Mindanao coal facility to open next year, Manila Standard, Nov. 27, 2017
  3. 3.0 3.1 AC Energy’s GNPK Signs EPC Contract for 552MW Thermal Plant in Mindanao, Ayala Corporation press release, 5 May 2014.
  4. 2.5-B Kauswagan power plant rises, OpinYon, 10 Jul 2017.
  5. Flores, Alena Mae. Ayala, GN Power clear site for Lanao coal plant. Manila Standard Today, 31 Aug. 2013.
  6. Private Sector Initiated Power Projects (Mindanao), Philippines Department of Energy, 30 Sept. 2014.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Ayala unit signs financing deal for Lanao coal plant, ABS-CBN News, 29 Dec. 2014.
  8. Fusilero, Kristianne. Grid firm to set up line for power plant. Mindanao Times, 7 Jan. 2015.
  9. Alena Mae S. Flores, "GNPower prepares coal power plant in Lanao del Norte," The Standard, July 24, 2015
  10. "Funding secured for fourth unit at Philippine coal-fired plant," Power Engineering, July 5, 2016
  11. Antitrust body paves way for Ayala exit from Mindanao power plant, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Oct. 10, 2019
  12. 1st unit of 540-MW GN Power to start end of 2017, Minda News, 25 Feb. 2017.
  13. "552-MW Mindanao coal facility to open next year," The Standard, November 27, 2017
  14. 2018 Private Sector initiated power projects in Mindanao (committed), Department of Energy, Republic of the Philippines, September 2018
  15. Victor V. Saulon, "Coal-fired plant classified ‘of national significance’", Business World, March 29, 2019.
  16. Unit 1 of Coswagen, Philippines, handed over to the owner for commercial operation, CPNN, Jul. 3, 2019
  17. http://news.bjx.com.cn/html/20190716/993009.shtml 菲律宾考斯瓦根4×135兆瓦燃煤电站2号机组顺利移交], BJX, Jul. 13, 2019
  18. Richel V. Umel, "Lanao del Norte environmentalists march almost 100 km vs coal-fired power plant," InterAksyon, July 24, 2015
  19. "Kauswagan," World Bank, accessed October 2018

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External resources

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