AboitizPower to explore new markets with JERA

MANILA, Philippines — Apart from liquefied natural gas (LNG)-to-power projects, Aboitiz Power Corp. will leverage on its new partnership with Japanese power firm JERA Co. Inc. to explore new markets as it charts its 10-year plan towards a decarbonized portfolio.

In a virtual briefing yesterday, AboitizPower president and CEO Emmanuel Rubio said JERA’s investment in the company would allow it to leverage the strengths and expertise of the Japanese power generation company to reach its 10-year expansion target.

“Through this partnership, we hope to build on our 10-year plan where we aim to reduce the carbon intensity of our business. We intend to explore pathways toward decarbonization that will complement our renewable energy growth plan and our nature-based carbon sequestration program,” he said.

Rubio said AboitizPower, together with JERA, would explore the development of offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture, as well as tap the global market.

JERA, through its wholly owned subsidiary JERA Asia, is acquiring a 27 percent stake in AboitizPower, of which 25.01 percent will be sold by Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. and 1.99 percent by the Aboitiz family’s privately held parent company.

“Present in more than 10 countries worldwide, JERA’s international footprint provides further opportunities for collaboration and new market entry for AboitizPower,” Rubio said.

Under the partnership, both parties have identified potential areas for collaboration across multiple fronts, including joint development of LNG-to-power projects, the fuel sourcing and management of LNG, potential participation in aspects of plant operation and management, and exploration of the use of new generation technologies.

In developing LNG projects, Rubio said the partnership with JERA would help firm up AboitizPower’s proposed 1,000-megawatt (MW) gas-fired plant, which is undergoing preliminary feasibility study.

“JERA is one of the world’s largest power producers and the largest single LNG buyer in the world. As the energy sector undergoes a transition, this represents a great opportunity for AboitizPower,” he said.

The company earlier announced it was shifting its focus to gas for baseload generation, abandoning the development of new coal-fired power plants as part of its shift to cleaner power sources in the next 10 years.

For the gas-fired power plant under study, AboitizPower said it was looking to participate in Manila Electric Co.’s competitive selection process for the supply of baseload capacity in 2030.

“We’re still in the very early stages of our LNG feasibility study. We’ve identified two sites as we have discussed in the past,” Rubio said.

“That’s also part of the memorandum of agreement that has been signed, for JERA to be able to share their supply chain experience and expertise and to make us competitive when this option is actually considered by AboitizPower,” he said.

JERA is also eyeing to develop large-scale renewable energy centered on offshore wind power generation.

Apart from this, JERA is  exploring carbon capture and hydrogen technology as part of its thrust to decarbonize its portfolio, which can also assist AboitizPower in enhancing its capability in powering up and supporting the country’s efforts to shift towards cleaner energy use.

AboitizPower is targeting a total attributable net sellable capacity of 9,200 MW, half of which or 4,600 MW should come from various RE deve­lopments as it eyes a 50:50 balance between its renewable and thermal capacities by 2030.