San Lorenzo Combined-Cycle Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant
The $500 million San Lorenzo CCGT facility generates 500MW electrical power. It
is located in Batangas City, along the Batangas Bay, around 100km from the
Philippine capital Manila. The plant is adjacent to the Santa Rita Project. This
strategic location allows it to share common facilities such as the tank farm and
fuel jetty, eliminating the need to duplicate various operational facilities.
The power station uses a Siemens GUD.1S.3A model gas turbine, a steam turbine
and a horizontal heat recovery boiler (HRSG) in each power generation unit. Two
power generation units have a single-shaft configuration.
The project’s cost is estimated to be $500 million inclusive of capital costs, working
capital requirements, related pipeline financing, insurance and development costs.
The finance was based on 75% debt and 25% equity structure. Cost reductions
via pooling of operations, maintenance and other expenses are also achieved. The
plant opened in 2002.
In December 2003, the owners of the Santa Rita and San Lorenzo power stations
and Meralco concluded a review of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) as
mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act. The owners and Meralco
cooperatively reviewed the PPA and incorporated a number of incentives intended
to encourage increased plant utilisation and subsequent efficiency gains.
Gas and Steam turbines
The San Lorenzo plant uses the Siemens GUD.1S.3A model gas turbine with
horizontal heat recovery boiler combined-cycle gas turbine technology. The plant
consists of two 250MW blocks in a single-shaft configuration. Each is equipped
with a gas turbine, steam turbine, generator, heat recovery steam generation and
auxiliary systems. The two model V84.3A gas turbines were manufactured at the
Siemens/KWU plant in Berlin, and the two steam turbines and generators were
supplied by Siemens/KWU plant in Mulheim.
The EPC contract was a fixed-price turnkey, date-certain type contract with
guarantees for completion and performance (heat-rate and output). The
operational maintenance of the plant was awarded to Siemens Power Operations
Inc (SPO), a 100%-owned subsidiary of Siemens Inc in the Philippines. SPO
manages, operates and maintains the plant and performs the services and
obligations specified in the Operations and Maintenance Agreement.
San Lorenzo Power Project Ownership
The San Lorenzo Project was commissioned by the First Gas Power Corporation
(FGP Corp), which is owned by First Gas Holding Corporation (FGHC), BG plc,
and Lopez Inc. First Gas Holding Corporation has a 41.6% stake in FGP Corp,
while BG plc has a 23.4% stake and the remaining 35% stake belongs to Lopez
Inc.
The San Lorenzo project played a critical role in establishing the Philippine natural
gas industry. It is a beneficiary of the country’s first natural gas production facility,
in Palawan (developed by Shell).
The San Lorenzo Project also promotes increased competition in the Philippine
power sector. It allows Meralco (the buyer of electricity) to meet its demand
requirements and capitalises on the medium to long-term power supply of the gap
forecast for the region of Luzon. San Lorenzo operates as a base load facility.
Meralco will take or pay for a MEQ equal to the net electrical output of the plant at
a capacity factor of 83%. Based on Meralco projections, the tariff offered by FGP
Corp, under the San Lorenzo Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), is competitive
with the NPC grid rate and Meralco’s alternate sources of power.
Figure 1: San Lorenzo CCGT Power Plant
Figure 2: Siemen’s Two Power Generation Units Run in Single-Shaft
Configuration
References:
Power Technology. (n.d). Retrieved from [Link]
[Link]/projects/sanlorenzo/
First Gen. (n.d). Retrieved from [Link]
power-plants/?cli_action=1590032295.298
