US giant offers solution to power crisis

MANILA, Philippines - AES Philippines Inc., the local unit of American energy giant AES Corp. is offering its battery energy storage (BES) technology as a possible long-term solution to the power problem in the country.

AES market business leader Neeraj Bhat said the company has also been offering the energy storage technology in other countries.

“This project started prior to the emergency power issue. The BES is potentially part of the solution because it will free up capacity for energy generation. If we can get it in time for summer then we will contribute to the solution,” he said in a briefing with reporters yesterday.

Furthermore, AES said the battery storage can help in improving the country’s ancillary services requirements with its safe technology.

It can be constructed within nine to 12 months and can be dispatched in less than one second, according to data from the company.

In the same briefing, AES vice president for commercial Chrysogonus Herrera said the battery storage project is a new technology using rechargeable cells, which will be used for ancillary services.

“We are looking at installing a 40-megawatt BES project in Negros and NGCP (National Grid Corp. of the Philippines) has directed us that there because that is where they have a ready installation. We can immediately connect to that,” he said.

NGCP is the country’s power grid operator.

Herrera said AES plans to put up a 10-MW BES within the Masinloc power plant in Zambales, initially as pilot and then scale this up eventually.

AES officials believe that in the Philippine island grids, there’s a lot of capacity for energy storage.

Bhat said while construction of the energy storage installations has not started yet, the company is already in talks with potential customers including NGCP.

In June, AES president and chief executive officer Andres Gluski said the company is pouring in $2 billion in the Philippines for the expansion of its 630-MW Masinloc coal-fired power plant and for its energy storage project.

Of the $2 billion, AES will invest $1.2 billion for the expansion of Masinloc by another 600 MW.

For the energy storage project, Gluski has said the company may invest $300 million or $500 million, depending on the capacity.

According to documents from the Department of Energy, AES Philippines

is planning to embark on a 40-MW battery storage project in Negros.

The project is among the list of indicative power projects for the Visayas grid, which could come online next year.