Zamboanga power station

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Zamboanga power station is a power station in the pre-permit stage in Sitio San Ramon, Talisayan, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Peninsula, Philippines. It is also known as San Ramon Zamboanga power station, ZAM CFPP.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Zamboanga power station	Sitio San Ramon, Talisayan, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Peninsula, Philippines	7.003675, 121.9237 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.

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Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	pre-permit	coal - unknown	120	subcritical	2027	–

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner
Unit 1	San Ramon Power Inc [100.0%]

Background

The 105 MW coal plant is one of two plants being developed in Mindanao by the Alcantara family. Its projected cost is $292 million.

The proponent of the power station is Conal Holdings, founded as a 40:60 joint venture between Electricity Generating Public Company Limited (EGCO Group) of Thailand and the Alcantara Group. In 2008 it was reported that Conal had reached an agreement with the Sultan Mining and Energy Development Corporation for the supply of coal for the project. Alcantara bought out EGCO's share of Conal in July 2013, making it the sole owner of the project.

Environmental permits for the project were issued in April 2012. Korea's Daelim Industrial was hired as engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor in December 2012. Ground was broken on the project in January 2013, with only site preparation work beginning at that time. As of September 2014, some permits for the project were still outstanding; Alcantara hopes to begin construction once those final permits are in hand. The project was still scheduled for completion in 2016.

Although Alcantara stated in September 2014 that it had received provisional authority to build the plant from the Energy Regulatory Commission and that the company hoped to have final approval in "two to three weeks" and begin construction by the end of 2014, as of early 2015 final permits were apparently still not in hand.

In November 2014, Alsons announced that it had received US$73.5 million loan from a consortium of Philippine and foreign banks, which it would use to partially fund its power development projects in Mindanao - the Zamboanga and Kamanga coal-fired power stations. Alsons would also use the loan to repay some of its debts. UBS Singapore acted as the lead arranger for the transaction.

In May 2015, Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACRI) company managers said that Toyota Tsusho Corp. of Japan was a joint venture partner in the project with a 25% share. The managers also said that the company was negotiating with various banks to finance up to 70 percent of the project.

In May 2016, Alsons executive vice president Tirso Santillan said that the plant would enter construction in 2016 and be completed in 2019.

In January 2017, Alsons stated that it was (again) "finalizing" EPC contracts — although a company had not been chosen, with several companies being considered. Alcantara's chairman, Tomas Alcantara, stated that "we are just working on the principal cooperative that would be the principal off-taker for the plant." In February 2018 Alsons stated that it planned to begin construction this year and put the plant into commercial operation in 2021.

In November 2017, Global Business Power Corp. spent PHP4.25 million to acquire a 50% stake in Alsons Thermal Energy Corp. (ATEC), a subsidiary of Alcantara Group that held a controlling stake in the Zamboanga power station. ING Group and Macquarie served as financial advisors.

In September 2018 it was reported that five construction firms had submitted bids to build the plant. In September 2019 San Ramon Power shortlisted two Chinese firms bidding to build the plant: Northeast No.1 Electric Power Construction Co. Ltd. (NEPC), a wholly owned subsidiary of the China Energy Engineering Group; and Shandong Electric Power Construction Co. (SEPCO 3), a unit of the Power Construction Corp. of China. In November of 2019, Alsons stated that it was now aiming to have the power plant operational by 2023.

On October 27, 2020 the Philippines Department of Energy (DOE) imposed a moratorium on the construction of new or "greenfield" coal-fired power plants, meaning those which have yet to begin construction. In November 2020 DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi clarified that projects listed as "indicative" by the DOE would still be considered and might still be developed.

In May of 2021, an article in the Manila Standard described the 105 MW Zamboanga power station as being "in the pipeline". The Alsons Power Group website also listed information about the Zamboanga power station in June of 2021. The Zamboanga power station was not listed in the December 2020 DOE report on initiated power projects for Mindanao. However, the plant was included in the March 2021 update, with a target operation date of June 2024.

In the October 2021 DOE update the plant has 120 MW capacity and a commissioning date of March 2025. In August 2022, DOE listed the commissioning date as June 2026.

2023: Continued delays

While little was publicly known about the progress of the project from 2021 to 2023, a quarterly report of Manila Electric Company and Subsidiaries in August 2023 noted that San Ramon Power Inc was still "developing a 120 MW baseload coal-fired plant in Zamboanga City." In a September 2023 DOE update, the power station's expected commercial operation date was listed as June 2027. The update noted the following issues associated with the project's development:

"Encountering delays due COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021) and zero covid policy in China (2022-2023)[.] Enhancement Program for offtaker, ZAMELCO. Zamboanga siege in September 2013 and the travel restriction for foreign EPC companies due to the siege [sic]"

In December 2023 and February 2024, the most recent DOE update noted that the project's EPC specifications and proposals were being updated, including the "reconfirmation of offtake arrangements." Commercial operation was still planned to begin in June 2027.

Public Opposition

March 31, 2012: Akbayan protest against Zamboanga coal plant

Numerous protests against the proposed plant have been held in the town of Talisayan. Josephine Pareja, the village chieftain of Talisayan, says "we will oppose the coal-fired power plant because it is dirty and poses grave danger to our health and the environment." The group Akbayan has also organized several protests against the plant in the city of Zamboanga.

Solar Plant Construction to Begin in Zamboanga City, Opposition to Coal Plant Continues

In December 2015, the Mindanao Examiner reported that a 300 MW solar power plant would begin construction in Zamboanga City by a group of French and Filipino investors as part of Ecoglobal Incorporated, headed by Jean-Philippe Henry. The plant would be constructed in Zamboanga City Freeport and Economic Zone in the village of Talisayan, with completion of the first stage of 30 MW to be completed by March 2016. The plant would be financed, managed, and operated by Ecoglobal. Meanwhile, the paper reported that opposition continued against the San Ramon project.

Financing

In 2018, loan financing from several banks was discussed. The loan component will cover 70 percent – or around P12 billion – of the total project cost and will be led by Land Bank of the Philippines. Alsons Power was also in talks with three to four other banks to extend the loan.

In its 2022 annual report, Alsons stated that the San Ramon Power was still in discussion with banks to finance the project at an estimated project cost of P16 billion.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.