Power Plants in the

Philippines
Submitted by:
Delos Santos, Jo Sofia E.
BSEE 5-1

Submitted to:
Dr. Carlos Sison
What is a POWER PLANT?

A power plant is an industrial facility used to generate electric power

with the help of one or more generators which converts
different energy sources into electric power.
Electricity is a secondary energy source, which means that electricity is
obtained from the conversion of other primary sources of energy, such
as coal, natural gas, nuclear, solar, or wind energy. The energy sources
used to make electricity can be renewable or non-renewable,
but electricity itself is neither renewable or non-renewable. The power
plant is the location in which the energy conversions take place.
How does a power plant work?
How does a power plant work?
• Fuel: Some power plants run on coal, while others use oil, natural
gas, or methane gas from decomposing rubbish.
• Furnace: The fuel is burned in a giant furnace to release heat
energy.
• Boiler: In the boiler, heat from the furnace flows around pipes full
of cold water. The heat boils the water and turns it into steam.
• Turbine:. Known as a steam turbine, this device is designed to
convert the steam's energy into kinetic energy (the energy of
something moving). For the turbine to work efficiently, heat must
enter it at a really high temperature and pressure and leave at as
low a temperature and pressure as possible.
How does a power plant work?
• Cooling tower:. Boiling hot water from the steam turbine is cooled in
a heat exchanger called a condenser. Then it's sprayed into the giant
cooling towers and pumped back for reuse.
• Generator: The turbine is linked by an axle to a generator, so the
generator spins around with the turbine blades. As it spins, the
generator uses the kinetic energy from the turbine to make electricity.
• Electricity cables: The electricity travels out of the generator to
a transformer nearby.
• Step-up transformer: Electricity loses some of its energy as it travels
down wire cables, but high-voltage electricity loses less energy than
low-voltage electricity. So the electricity generated in the plant is
stepped-up (boosted) to a very high voltage as it leaves the power plant.
How does a power plant work?
• Pylons: Hugh metal towers carry electricity at extremely high
voltages, along overhead cables, to wherever it is needed.
• Step-down transformer: Once the electricity reaches its
destination, another transformer converts the electricity
back to a lower voltage safe for homes to use.
• Homes: Electricity flows into homes through underground
cables.
• Appliances: Electricity flows all round your home to outlets
on the wall.
Types of Power Plants
Nuclear Power Plants
Using a nuclear fission reaction and uranium as fuel,
nuclear power plants generate high amount of electricity.
As nuclear power plants emit low greenhouse gas
emissions, the energy is considered environmentally
friendly.
When compared to renewable sources of energy such as
solar and wind, the power generation from nuclear
power plants is also considered more reliable.
Hydroelectric Power Plants
Hydroelectricity is produced by harnessing the
gravitational force of flowing water.
Compared to fossil fuel-powered energy plants,
hydroelectric power plants emit fewer greenhouse
gases.
However, the construction of hydroelectric power
plants and dams requires huge investment.
Coal-fired Power Plants
According to World Coal Association, coal-fired power plants
currently account for 41% of global electricity, with almost half
of that coming from China alone.
Coal-fired power plants use steam coal as source to generate
electricity and consequently emit a significant amount of
harmful gases into the atmosphere.
In a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many developed
nations have already announced plans to phase out coal-fired
power plants.
Geothermal Power Plants
The three main types of geothermal plants include dry steam
power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle
power stations, all of which use steam turbines to produce
electricity.
As of May 2015, 24 countries were home to a combined
geothermal power capacity of 12.8GW, according to a report by
Geothermal Energy Association.
Geothermal power plants are considered environmentally
friendly and emit lower levels of harmful gases compared with
coal-fired power plants.
Combined-cycle Power Plants
Using both gas and steam turbines, combined-cycle
power plants produce higher amounts of electricity
from a single fuel source compared to a traditional
power plant.
They capture heat from the gas turbine to increase
power production and are also found to release low
amounts of harmful gases into the atmosphere.
Solar Power Plants
Solar energy plants convert energy from the sun into
thermal or electrical energy using one of the cleanest
and most abundant renewable energy sources.
They generally do not require high maintenance and
last for about 20-25 years.
Solar Thermal Power Plants
Solar thermal is a system of giant mirrors arranged in
such a way so as to concentrate the sun’s rays on a very
small area to create significant amount of heat, thus
creating steam to power a turbine that creates
electricity.
Wind Power Plants
In recent years, there has been a rapid growth in the
number of wind farms across the world, underpinned
by technological advancements.
As wind is naturally occurring source of energy, there
are no limitations to harness its power.
Operational costs involved in maintaining wind power
plants are low after the erection of wind turbines and
they are generally considered cost effective.
Tidal Power Plants
Tidal energy is generated from converting energy from
the force tides into power and its production is
considered more predictable compared to wind energy
and solar power.
Despite this, tidal power is still not exploited widely
even as the world’s first large-scale tidal power plant
became operational in 1966.
Latest Power Plant Development
In The Philippines:
The San Buenaventura
Supercritical Power Project
San Buenaventura Supercritical Power
Project
• A 500MW coal-fired supercritical power project under
construction in the Mauban municipality of the Quezon
region.
• Once completed, this power facility will become the first
coal plant in the Philippines to utilize the state-of-the-art
supercritical technology that has been proven to increase
operational efficiencies and significantly reduce emissions.
• San Buenaventura Power (SBPL) is the owner and operator
of the supercritical power facility.
San Buenaventura Power Plant Details
• Using state-of-the-art supercritical boiler technology,
the San Buenaventura plant will operate at higher
pressures leading to significantly more efficient and
less-emitting power generation, compared to
conventional coal-based power plants.
• The San Buenaventura power plant will use sub-
bituminous coal as fuel, which will be transported
from the on-site coal yard to the boiler by covered
overland conveyors.
San Buenaventura Power Plant Details
• The supercritical coal power plant will also be
fitted with an electrostatic precipitator for fly ash
capture and removal and a seawater-based flue
gas desulfurization (FGD) system to reduce
emissions.
• It will feature a covered turbine deck to protect
the personnel from adverse climates as well as
to facilitate easy plant maintenance.
What is a Supercritical Coal Plant?
• A type of coal-fired power plant used in more
modern designs. They differ from traditional coal
power plants because the water running through
it works as a supercritical fluid, meaning it is
neither a liquid or a gas. This occurs when water
reaches its critical point under
high pressures and temperatures, specifically at
22 MPa and 374oC.
What is a Supercritical Coal Plant?
• As a liquid approaches its critical point, its latent heat of
vaporization begins to decrease until it reaches zero at
the critical point. This means that the amount
of energy needed to change the water
into steam becomes less and less, and eventually the
water's vaporization phase change is instant. This reduces
the amount of heat transfer to the water that is normally
needed in a conventional coal plant, therefore, less coal is
used to heat the same amount of water. This increases
the plant's thermal efficiency by a considerable amount.
Power Plants in the Power
Generation Mix of the
Philippines
Gross Power Generation by Plant Type (in MWh)
Reference: 2018 Power Statistics, Department of Energy
List of Power Plants in the
Philippines by Power Plant
Type