San Miguel
Famous for its beer, the Filipino conglomerate San Miguel is also the largest power producer in the Philippines. The company operates 4 coal plants and still plans to build 2 new coal plants and 8 new gas plants.
In 2020, the Philippine government put an end to coal expansion: it adopted a coal moratorium. Companies could only go ahead with expansion projects the government had already permitted. Projects without a permit were prohibited. This decision heavily affected San Miguel. The company had proposed 74% of the prohibited projects. Still, San Miguel is pushing forward with its 2 projects that already had a permit: 1,200 MW Mariveles coal plant and 700 MW Masinloc plant.
Instead of making use of the Philippines’ huge potential for renewables, San Miguel is planning to build 14 GW of new gas plants that will be fueled by imported LNG. One of the gas plants and most of the necessary LNG import terminals are located in the Verde Island Passage, a marine biodiversity hotspot within the Coral Triangle. The Verde Island Passage is home to over 300 coral species and approximately 1,736 fish species. 2 million people make a living from small-scale fishing. San Miguel’s expansion plans are putting this paradise at risk.
San Miguel has a long track record of destruction. In February 2023 a San Miguel oil tanker sank in the Verde Island Passage. Thousands of fisherfolk lost their jobs overnight. The company barely took any responsibility for the disaster. Just over a year later, another San Miguel oil tanker sank off the coast of Bataan. The company’s relentless coal and gas expansion plans will make such catastrophes even likelier.
NGOs working on San Miguel
