The Aboitiz Power Corp., through its subsidiary Therma Marine Inc. (TMI), has broken ground for its upcoming 48-megawatt (MW) Nasipit hybrid battery energy storage system project.
The project, which broke ground on Monday, April 21, will be integrated into its existing 100 MW oil-fired power facility, TMI Mobile 2, in Lawis, Sta. Ana, Nasipit, Agusan del Norte, the Aboitiz Power said in a statement on Tuesday, April 22.
Aboitiz Power said construction has been scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2025 and targeted to come online in the second quarter of 2026.
However, the company declined to provide the project cost, saying that it may impact negotiations since the facility will participate in future competitive biddings.
“Once completed, the Nasipit BESS project will help enable more grid stability and support the growing share of renewable energy in our grid. It’s a smart solution for a smarter energy landscape,” said Ronaldo Ramos, AboitizPower transition business group chief operating officer for operated assets.
A BESS is a type of energy storage that uses a set of batteries to store surplus electricity, which is released when needed to augment supply or improve the quality of the electricity in the power system.
Aboitiz Power pioneered its BESS model through the first-of-its-kind hybrid BESS installed in its TMI Mobile 1 oil-fired power plant in Maco, Davao de Oro, which began commercial operations in 2022.
The company said these oil-fired power plants, coupled with the BESS technology, play a crucial role in providing fast, responsive power to help balance supply and demand in the grid as an ancillary service.
Ancillary services serve as the available generating capacity for dispatch to meet contingency reserve requirements when a power generating unit trips or a transmission interconnection problem occurs.
Aboitiz Power, as an entire group, has a current growth strategy to add 3,600 MWs of new renewable energy (RE) capacity to have a total of 4,600 MWs worth of RE by 2030 to pair with thermal power plants. These additional power capabilities will support the country’s baseload and peak energy demands and achieve a total portfolio of 9,200 MWs for the period.
