175 power projects cleared for system impact studies

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 175 power generation projects have been cleared by the Department of Energy to conduct system impact studies (SIS) with the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) in 2023.

The SIS is conducted to determine the capacity of the power grid to accommodate a new generator.

It also identifies necessary improvements such as additional transmission lines, transformers, or substations.

DOE data showed that of the total projects issued with clearance to undertake SIS last year, 158 are renewable energy projects.

The other seven are conventional power generation projects, while 10 are energy storage systems.

In terms of capacity, the biggest project endorsed by the DOE comes from Domhain Earth Corp. for its 1,830-megawatt (MW) Calatagan Offshore Wind Farm in Batangas and Occidental Mindoro.

In December 2023 alone, the DOE issued 21 SIS endorsements to the NGCP, which is composed of two amendments and 19 new applications.

Among the biggest projects in terms of capacity endorsed in December were the 420-MW East Ecija wind power project of Gigasol4 Inc. in Nueva Ecija, the 387.5-MW Real ACE wind power project of GIGA ACE 6 Inc. in Quezon, the 416.17-megawatt peak (MWp) Daga solar power project of Visayas Cleanergy Inc. in Negros Occidental, the 200-MW Doña Remedios Trinidad Bulacan wind farm project of Apolaki Three Inc. in Norzagaray, the 240-MWp Luna solar power project of South Cleanergy Inc. in Negros Occidental, and the 196-MWp solar power project with integrated battery energy storage system of 82.56 MW by CSFirst Green Agri-industrial Development Inc. in Pangasinan.

NGCP earlier said the number of SIS applications have surged significantly due primarily to the country’s rising power generation demand.

In line with the increase, NGCP said it expects to boost the capacity of the organization and conduct more SIS studies simultaneously.

Further, the company has adopted a clustering approach for SIS, wherein power plants with a common connection point or study area are grouped together.

The clustering strategy streamlines the process and accelerate the evaluation of multiple projects, enhancing the overall efficiency and reducing the waiting time for potential power plant developers.