President Luis Abinader and Vice President Raquel Peña and Energy Minister Antonio Almonte were present for the symbolic start of operations of three natural gas-powered generation units and a chilling tower in southeastern San Pedro de Macoris. The 1,000 MW Cespm-Energas Power Park revolved around converting the 300 MW San Pedro de Macorís Electricity Company (CESPM), the former Cogentrix power plant, from diesel to natural gas. A pipeline from Andrés, Boca Chica was built to supply the power plant.
Speaking at the event Rolando Gonzalez Bunster, chairman of the board of directors, reminisced on the years of negotiations since 2006. He said the talks for converting the power plant began in 2006 when Goldman Sachs expressed interest in divesting itself of all power plants not located in the United States. The UK government also agreed to sell their participation in Cogentrix.
González Bunster mentioned that numerous snags on the way delayed the project until now. He called for this not to happen again in the Dominican Republic. “It is an example of what not to do,” said González Bunster. “We need to back the transformation to clean energies. Natural gas is a transition fuel as the country moves to renewables. This has taken 14 years to happen.”
He added: “Now in retrospect, the 14 years were well spent.” Speaking with optimism, González Bunster said the natural gas-powered plants are built to last 50 years. “When they are well maintained and use clean energy, they can operate efficiently for decades,” he said.
González Bunster announced studies are underway with AES to construct a 120,000 cubic meters natural gas terminal in the eastern region. The terminal will make it possible to build more generation units to supply clean energy to the booming eastern region. AES is the country’s supplier of natural gas.
Speaking at the inauguration, Energas general manager Roberto Herrera explained that the latest generation system was built to optimize the electrical power system’s robustness. He said it is more friendly and intuitive to operate. German Siemens technology powers the central. German ambassador Volker Pellet was in the audience at the inauguration.
The electricity central supplies power to the national electricity grid through the government-owned EdeEste utility that serves the eastern region. The power plants guarantee lower-cost energy production and a reduced carbon footprint. The switch from diesel translates to savings of US$1 billion over the next ten years.
The power utilities will now be able to purchase energy at a lower cost. Herrera also spoke of the environmental benefits of reducing 460,000 metric tons per year in carbon dioxide emissions and 1,050 tons per year in greenhouse gasses.
Herrera announced Energas is carrying out studies to build a fourth generation unit of 250 to 350MW in the eastern region to be powered with natural gas. Herrera said the plans are for the power plant to be in operation in the next three years.
Before the ribbon-cutting, President Luis Abinader said: “The project is a great advance for the country. We gave it our support when we were opposition and when we became government,” he explained. He promised the delays experienced by the project would not be repeated in his government. “That odyssey will not happen in our government. We will act following the laws and the Constitution. We have proven that we can act fast and more so when it is in the national interest. We are acting fast but in next days there will be a series of bills so we can ensure that the governments that follow after us must act fast and expeditely in favor of the country.”
He said that Energas begins its operation at a time when the national electricity pact is being discussed. He said this is a 20-year electrical plan. Abinader said that the government is listening to all but a consensus needs to be reached and this not necessarily will be unanimous.
“The government thinks the future of energy generation is based on natural gas and renewables. Natural gas is a transition while we convert to renewables for the generation of electricity. That is the proposal of this government,” said the President. He said investing in renewables will protect the country from the instability in prices of imported fuels.
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Diario Libre
N Digital
Listin Diario
29 October 2020