US firm positions for Philippine energy expansion

US-BASED engineering, procurement, and construction firm Black & Veatch is banking on the Philippines’ power sector for growth opportunities, driven by large capacity additions expected to come online.

“With the amount of capacity that needs to get added in, we are definitely seeing that there is this possibility (for opportunities),” Jerin Raj, senior vice-president, managing director, and head for Asia-Pacific and India at Black & Veatch, said in an interview with BusinessWorld.

Mr. Raj said the Philippines’ ambition to increase the share of renewable energy in the national power mix is a key driver of his optimism.

The Philippines aims to raise the share of renewable energy in the power generation mix to 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040.

The government has so far launched five rounds of green energy auctions, which are expected to deliver more than 20 gigawatts (GW) of capacity between 2025 and 2030.

The green energy auction is a competitive bidding mechanism used to procure renewable energy capacity, allowing winning bidders to secure long-term contracts.

As an engineering, procurement, consultancy, and construction firm, Black & Veatch sees these developments as an opportunity to expand its operations while contributing to the country’s energy transition goals.

“It provides enough clarity to developers as to how they should deploy their money and what are the assets that they need to develop. And for someone like us who support developers and bring their ideas to reality, the developer having that clarity is such an important piece,” Mr. Raj said.

Operating in the Asia-Pacific region since the 1960s, the company aims to deliver the region’s “next generation of human critical infrastructure.” The company provides services across the lifecycle of infrastructure assets — from facility design to construction.

At present, the company maintains offices in the Philippines, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

With more than 50 years of experience, Black & Veatch has provided engineering, construction, and field study services for projects with a total estimated power capacity of 27 GW.

Among the company’s notable projects are the construction of a 1,275-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle power plant, the deployment of a 4.996-MW floating solar facility, and a series of grid and renewable energy integration projects.

“We are absolutely bullish about the Philippine economy, the Philippine market. We think it’s among the most promising markets in the ASEAN region. There’s a whole lot of ambition. There’s a whole lot of drive, and we want to grow our Philippine office as well substantially,” Mr. Raj said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera