Filinvest to build P40-B power plant

VILLANUEVA, Misamis Oriental, Philippines – The Gotianun family’s Filinvest Group plans to spend around P40 billion for the construction of a 405-megawatt (MW) circulating fluidized bed coal-fired thermal power plant inside the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate here.

Filinvest Development Corp.(FDC) president and CEO L. Josephine Gotianun-Yap said they are now in talks with several banks to raise funds for  the project.

Yap said they plan to undertake the project on their own and would not need a partner.

FDC Utilities chairman Jonathan Gotianun, for his part, said the Filinvest Group intends to contribute to efforts to alleviate the power shortage in Mindanao.

“Our basic aim is we want to bring to Mindanano a more balanced mix of energy resource. For the longest time Mindanao has been solely dependent on hydro so very susceptible to drought, etc. We want to provide them with a more balanced mix so that power is more reliable and then also we want to bring it to a more affordable pricing,” he said.

FDC Misamis president Jesus N. Alcordo said the company is committed to environmentally sound projects and balanced development.

“We are one with the government in ensuring reliable and competitively-priced power for one of our fastest-growing regions in the country. The Mindanao grid needs to have enough new capacity to ensure longevity of power sources without the fear of blackouts occurring in the region,” Alcordo said.

He also said that they have already contracted the entire 405 MW capacity of the power facility to some 17 electric cooperatives (ECs) with franchise areas in Misamis Oriental and other parts of Mindanao, helping ensure the supply of reliable and competitively-priced power for the province and the rest of the region.

These agreements secure the contracted capacity for the project’s two units of 135 MW each. Agreements with other customers are currently ongoing for the third unit.

FDC is targeting to start the commissioning of three units of the FDC Misamis project by early 2016.

Considered as the cleanest process to burning coal, the technology removes more than 95 percent of sulfur emissions. It creates negligible nitrogen oxide levels while generating useful by-products such as calcium sulfate for cement production.

The 405 MW-project, currently the biggest power project in Northern Mindanao, will meet the increasing demand for energy in the region and is expected to attract more investments and development in the province.