Not a cool idea: WWF raises alert on planned coal

wait 2 secs to reload the imageWITH the historic Copenhagen climate talks just weeks away, the Philippines—tempered by a recent spate of destructive typhoons—is poised to go green with the recent passage of the Philippine Climate Change Act of 2009 (RA 9729) and the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 (RA 9513).  The fight begins at home, however. Numerous coal-fired power plants, undoubtedly the dirtiest source of energy, are set to be erected in 2010.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is vehemently opposing these plants, stressing that similarly priced, inexhaustible and cleaner energy sources are already available. WWF-Philippines recently laid out its strong stand against coal-fired power plants, and called out to those in the power sector to prioritize smarter green technologies.

WWF-Philippines maintains that the era for aggressive renewable energy (RE) options has come, and the continued construction of all coal-fired power plants nationwide belongs to a period that must come to an end.

Says WWF Climate Change and Energy Programme Director Yeb Saño, “The power industry is the biggest contributor of greenhouse gases to the Earth’s already-packed atmosphere. Worse, fossil-based sources such as coal plants are the most prevalent emitters of carbon dioxide [CO2]. Since renewable energy sources can provide the same amount of power and the technologies needed to efficiently harness these sources are currently available, and since the Renewable Energy Act provides very attractive incentives that boost the viability and profitability of these zero-emission energy options, we oppose the building of all coal-fired power plants nationwide.”

Power generation from coal plants contributes over 35 percent of the country’s CO2 emissions, says WWF. Among the proposed coal projects is a 200-MW circulating fluidized bed (CFB) power plant set to be erected in Naga, Cebu. The P5.7-billion ($120 million) plant is a joint venture of Kephilco and Salcon Power Corporation.

In Toledo City, Cebu Energy plans to construct three coal plants with a working capacity of 82-MW each.

Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC), a subsidiary of the Global Business Power Corp., is also building a 164-MW CFB plant worth P19 billion ($400 billion) in Barangay Ingore, Iloilo.

Another 200-MW CFB plant is set to be erected in the municipality of Maasim in Mindanao’s Sarangani province. The P21.3-billion ($450 million) Southern Mindanao 200-MW project is spearheaded by Conal Holdings, a joint-venture company of Alsons Consolidated Resources and EGCO International, a company based in Thailand.

Most of the coal used for Philippine power generation is imported—with over 10 million tons of coal shipped into the country yearly. Among the deleterious effects of burning coal are polluted air, acid rain, aggravated asthma, poisoned aquatic life and the possible exposure to radioactive materials such as uranium and thorium. Today, 50 percent of global mercury emissions stem from Asian fossil-based power plants, according to data cited by WWF.

In Concepcion, Iloilo, a planned 100-MW CFB plant under the DMCI Power Corp. was scaled down to 60 MW—largely because local cooperatives have decided to source out the majority of their power from renewable energy sources.

Cheaper and cleaner alternatives

Fortunately, notes WWF, the country has been blessed with an abundance of indigenous sources of clean, renewable energy. “The Philippines is the world’s second-largest producer of geothermal energy,” points out WWF Asia-Pacific Energy Policy Coordinator Rafael Senga. “We also have tremendous wind resources just waiting to be tapped. All we need are key industry leaders in the coal sector to take the initiative; to show the rest that a shift can be done, and done very well.”

According to the Department of Energy (DOE), the country’s renewable energy potential is vast—with 4,531 MW from geothermal; 13,097 MW from hydropower, 277 MBFOE from biomass; 5.0-5.1 kWh/m2/day from solar; 76,600 MW from wind and 170,000 MW from oceanic waves. The power generated from oceanic waves alone, says WWF, is enough to address the power generation needs of the entire nation for decades on end. Globally, WWF advocates the adoption of clean-energy technologies.

Adds Saño, “We are not opposed to rural development. Naturally, we need power—but it must be clean power. Coal-fired power plants seem superficially cheap today. However, the real costs may include the loss of hundreds of the country’s 7,107 islands due to rising sea levels, widespread disease from vector-carriers such as mosquitoes, plus flooded croplands and communities. If we want to avoid another Typhoon Ondoy or Pepeng, clean power is not just our best option; it is our only option. We only hope that local power developers recognize this, and realize that WWF is here to help them clean up their operations.”

Already, new powerhouses in the clean power sector are emerging. In October the DOE approved 87 renewable energy projects—ranging from wind power projects from Alternergy Philippine Holdings Corp., to hydropower ventures from First Gen Mindanao Hydropower Corp., to initiatives by the Energy Development Corp. to tap local geothermal sources—where there were more eager bidders than geothermal sites. Together, the 87 projects are expected to generate a total of 4042-MW. WWF lauds these industry leaders and encourages others to follow suit.

World leaders are set to meet in Copenhagen next month to iron out fresh agreements that spell out deep binding targets for the world’s industrialized nations to curb carbon emissions. Among the outputs it aims for, says WWF, is a 40-percent reduction of current emissions for developing countries by 2020 in order to avert serious adverse impacts on vulnerable developing countries like the Philippines.  –Jun Cruz, Businessmirror