Hydrocarbons, pumped storage hydro and economic growth

There are a number of good developments in the Philippine energy sector recently.

- Bienvenido S. Oplas Jr.

Consider these reports in The Philippine STAR written by Brix Lelis: "DOE: Drilling operations begin at Malampaya field" (June 21); "Meralco, Gokongweis expand power supply deal" (June 24); "MGen inks supply deals with D&L unit" (June 25); "DOE seeking Chinese expertise on battery storage facilities" (June 25); "Philippines, Tiger Cub economies to ignite global oil demand" (June 25).

We need more hydrocarbons, oil and gas energy to power the Philippines' high growth trajectory. The number of vehicles, especially large trucks and buses that transport heavy loads and millions of passengers will need more oil. The number of companies and households that need more electricity will need more gas to augment our coal, hydro and other renewables generation.

About the Department of Energy's (DOE) plan to get State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC) support in deploying battery storage systems to reinforce the country's transmission network, this is good. I saw partly SGCC's sophistication in grid operation, maintenance and innovation. As I mentioned earlier in this column, I saw last April the Fengning pumped storage hydro (PSH) plant in Hebei province that serves as ancillary service (AS) or peaking plant, owned by SGCC. I also saw China's modern road infrastructure like many road tunnels under big and long mountains, plus the high-speed train. The Fengning facility is the largest PSH plant in the world at 3,600 MW (300 MW x 12 units).