Supreme Court clears way for construction of 600-MW coal-fired facility
MANILA, Philippines - Meralco Power Gen (MGen), the power generation arm of Manila Electric Co., can now proceed with the construction of a 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone following the decision of the Supreme Court declaring the project as valid.
Meralco president Oscar Reyes said with the SC decision, Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (RP Energy) the company behind the project, would no longer face any other legal hurdle.
“This would allow us to move ahead to meet the growing demand. If that case was not filed, that plant would have been put up in the latter part of the year or early 2016 which should continue to be a period of tight power supply,” he said.
RP Energy is a consortium composed of MGen, Aboitiz Power Corp. and Taiwan Cogeneration International Corp.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court en banc reversed a Court of Appeals decision on RP Energy’s Subic project and declared its environment compliance certificate as valid. It confirmed as well the denial of the writ of kalikasan.
“We can now move forward with this long delayed and much needed project,” Mike Toledo, spokesperson for the MVP Group which includes Meralco, told The STAR.
RP Energy president Angelito Lantin said the company is hoping to start the project within the year.
“RP Energy will try to start construction at the soonest possible time, hopefully within this year,” he said.
“The decision of the Supreme Court will now allow RP Energy to proceed with the construction and development of its 600-MW power plant in Subic. This could not have come at a better and more opportune time considering the challenges we now face in so far as the power supply situation in the Luzon grid is concerned,” he added.
He also said RP Energy is committed to working with all concerned government agencies in ensuring a reliable, sustainable, and competitively priced supply of power that will contribute to the continued progress of the country.
Reyes said with the Supreme Court’s decision, the Luzon grid would now be able to move from a tight supply situation to one with more adequate reserves.
The power plant, originally targeted to be in place in 2016, faced strong opposition among environmental groups, which filed a writ of kalikasan case.
The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) faced criticisms from some oppositors to the plant, saying the SBMA should not allow the plant to locate in the freeport because of its impact on tourism and the environment.