Page 10 - AsiaElec Week 12 2023

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

Prime Infrastructure plans solar,

battery projects

World’s largest solar power plant on the cards if battery storage feasible

PHILIPPINES

PHILIPPINE holding company Prime Infra- expire in 2024. Unless there is further devel-
structure Capital plans to sink more wells at the opment, output is due to end by 2027.
country’s sole natural gas project for launch in Lucci said earlier this year that the “drop-
2026, and wants to develop other fields to main- dead” day to launch new wells at Malampaya
tain production for longer, its CEO told Reuters was the first quarter of 2026, but hopefully
on March 15. drilling could take place earlier.
Prime Infrastructure has a pipeline of other Prime Infrastructure is owned by Philip-
energy projects as well, Guillaume Lucci told pine billionaire Enrique Razon, best known
the news agency, including an investment as the CEO of Manila-listed port-handling
of no less than PHP200bn ($3.7bn) in solar giant International Container Terminal Ser-
power and battery energy storage systems. vices. The planned IPO, targeted to raise up
These commitments have come as Prime to PHP28bn ($511mn), had originally been
Infrastructure prepares to undergo an initial due to take place in October last year but was
public offering (IPO) later this year. postponed because of market volatility. The
“The first step is to continue extracting Philippines’ stock market index is down 1.5%
as much gas as possible from the existing so far in 2023, although it is outperforming
source. To that end, we will be drilling new some other indices in the regions.
wells,” Lucci said. Beyond energy, Prime Infrastructure
The company intends to bring on stream is also involved in water distribution and
additional fields within the existing Malam- waste management. “We certainly need the
paya concession and other areas. capital to support our projects but an IPO
Malampaya, situated off the coast of the is only one of many ways to raise capital,”
Philippines’ Palawan province, started pro- Lucci said.
ducing in 2001 and supplies power stations Terra Renewables, a division of the com-
that provide around a fifth of the country’s pany, intends to develop a 2,500-3,500-MW
electricity needs. Prime Infrastructure wants solar power plant – the world’s largest – as
to obtain a 15-year extension of the contract long as a supporting battery energy storage
governing the project that is currently due to system can be implemented.™

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