SMC Global eyes completion of 14 BESS

MANILA, Philippines — SMC Global Power Holdings Inc., the power unit of San Miguel Corp. (SMC), is set to complete 14 battery energy storage systems (BESS) in the next two years.

Based on its list of committed private sector-initiated projects in Luzon as of end-December, the Department of Energy (DOE) said SMC Global had committed 13 BESS projects with a combined capacity of 320 megawatts (MW). The firm also has an indicative 40-MW BESS project.

The 320-MW BESS projects were issued with system impact studies (SIS) in June 2019, while the 40-MW indicative project was granted an SIS in September last year.

Based on DOE data, SMC Global Power is targeting to start commercial operations of 10 BESS projects by December 2021. These are the 40-MW in Laoag, Ilocos Norte; 40-MW in Mexico, Pampanga; 20-MW in Navotas City; 40-MW in Limay, Bataan; 20-MW in Daraga, Albay; 20-MW in San Roque/San Manuel; 20-MW in Gamu, Isabela; 20-MW in San Rafael, Bulacan; 20-MW in Magapit, Cagayan and the 20-MW in Concepcion, Tarlac.

Three projects – 20-MW in Angat, Bulacan, 20-MW in Isabela, and 20-MW in Masinloc, Zambales – are targeted to start operating by January 2022.

Meanwhile, the 40-MW indicative BESS project in La Trinidad, Benguet is scheduled to complete testing and commissioning by December 2022, but commercial operations are slated in December 2023.

The BESS projects are being developed by Universal Power Solutions Inc., formerly SMCGP Philippines Energy Storage Co. Ltd., a unit of SMC Global Power.

In January last year, SMC Global Power raised $600 million from the issuance of senior perpetual capital securities in Singapore to finance its long list of BESS projects.

SMC Global Power first announced plans to invest in BESS projects in 2019, to complement its development of renewable energy (RE) projects as part of growing its portfolio.

The combination of BESS and RE projects forms part of its objective to operate in an environmentally-responsible manner while considering energy security and affordability.

This as the company announced plans of developing 10,000 MW of new RE capacity in the next 10 years.

As of October 2020, SMC had an installed capacity of approximately 20.7 percent of the national grid and 28 percent of the Luzon grid.