Solon seeks probe of construction of coal-fired power plants

Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano is seeking a probe into numerous planned and ongoing construction of privately owned and operated coal-fired power plants in the country.

In House Resolution 1612, Mariano said the Aquino government is permitting the profileration of coal-fired plants as part of its long-term national energy plan and policy on Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

Under the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) 2009 to 2030 crafted by the Department of Energy (DoE), the government has adopted the policy of accelerated exploration and development of coal resources to ensure energy security.

Under the Philippine Energy Contracting Round, the government continues to offer our national coal reserves to big local and foreign companies for explorations and production. It is targeting to increase the local production of coal by 250 percent by 2015 in order to meet the demands of increasing numbers of coal-fired power plants to be installed in Isabela, Zambales, Davao City, Davao del Sur, Sarangani province, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, General Santos City and Sultan Kudarat.

“There is a mounting public resistance against planned and ongoing construction of new coal-fired power plants across the country, as these projects will put the environment as well as health and livelihood of affected communities in greater peril. We need to thoroughly study if the social risks of these planned coal plants far outweigh their purported gains,” said the solon who urged the House committee on energy chaired by Bataan Rep. Henedina Abad to take up the measure as soon as possible.

“Advantages and damages that will emanate from these coal-fired plant projects must be thoroughly studied. It is alarming that the Aquino administration is promoting and supporting ‘dirty and pollutive’ coal plants as a source of energy in the country,” Mariano said.

The Anakpawis solon said environmental, church-based and cause-oriented groups are campaigning against the disastrous effects of coal-fired power plants. Based on a study by the Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (Eiler), the planned use of coal as energy source should raise a grave cause of concern due to several reasons: (a) Coal-fired power plants have long been identified by scientists all over the world as major contributors to the atmospheric accumulation of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming and climate change;

(b) Studies have shown that coal is the most carbon intensive among fossil fuels, emitting 29 percent more carbon per unit of energy than oil and 80 percent more than natural gas. Mining, cleaning and transporting coal to power plants generate additional emissions like methane, a potent greenhouse gas; (c) Toxic gases like nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide are infamous byproducts of coal plants which are responsible for acid rain and a host of serious lung diseases;

(d) Across the globe, coal-burning power plants account for nearly 90 percent of the sulfur dioxide emitted by all power plants, causing acid rain that wreaks damage to bodies of water and structures; Charlie V. Manalo, Daily Tribune