SMC power firm lines up 4,000 MW of projects
The energy subsidiary of tycoon Ramon Ang’s San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is pursuing various projects in different stages of development and with generating a capacity totaling about 4,000 megawatts (MW) to further build up its portfolio, including renewable energy facilities.
San Miguel Global Power (SMGP) disclosed recently that its subsidiary Mariveles Power Generation Corp. was developing a circulating fluidized bed coal-fired power plant and other facilities in Bataan.
The first three generators were activated in 2024, while another segment has yet to secure from the Energy Regulatory Commission a permit to operate.
Designed to have an installed capacity of 600 MW, the group’s budget for the project was P34.4 billion.
The firm has likewise set its focus on the Masinloc power plant in Zambales, with a plan to boost the coal-fired thermal power facility with two more units. Each generator is expected to have 350 MW of generating capacity.
The project, with investment reaching P15.8 billion, is eyed for completion between this year and 2026.
SMGP also said that the completion rate of its 1,320-MW combined cycle power facility in Batangas was already at 98.2 percent as of September 2024. The project is backed by P36.9 billion in funding.
On top of these major developments, SMGP also hinted at the possibility of building small-scale generators that run on liquefied natural gas (LNG) in select locations in Mindanao, with capacities ranging from 50 MW to 100 MW.
Deploying these LNG units in the region could “boost rural electrification,” the firm said.
“The company is evaluating the timing on progressing the project depending on market conditions, the general state of the Philippine economy, and demand, among others,” it said in a filing at the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp.
Meanwhile, just like other big players in the industry, SMGP also seeks to beef up its clean energy portfolio. The group said its subsidiary SMC Global Light and Power Corp. is already working on various solar power projects, with “potential partners” supporting the expansion.
By 2028, the initial phase of the solar farms—which would be located in Bataan, Bulacan and Isabela province—is seen to have an aggregate capacity of 1,300 MW.
The expansion would also stretch to Pagbilao in Bohol, and strategic locations in Mindanao, according to SMGP.
All in all, these projects rack up a total of at least 3,970 MW of capacity.
Further, about 1,100 MW more capacity would be added by 2039, the company said
Currently, SMGP’s capacity across its portfolio is at about 5,356 MW.
