Mindanao people urged to accept coal-fired plants

MANILA, Philippines -  The Department of Energy (DOE) is urging Mindanao stakeholders to support the construction of more coal-fired facilities to avert possible brownouts in the island.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras met recently with local officials and multi-sectoral groups in South Cotabato to ensure that Mindanao would have a more stable and reliable supply of electricity.

During the meeting, Almendras presented the current energy situation in Mindanao, in which power supply stability may be threatened in case one of the power plants conks out because of the thin reserves.

But he assured that the DOE is adopting measures to meet the growing demand, particularly on its purposive target on coal mining.

DOE assistant secretary Ramon V. Oca, also noted during the meeting that there are three coal operating contracts held by Daguma Agro-Minerals, Inc., Sultan Energy Philippines Corp., and Bonanza Energy Resources, Inc. for development/production.

Oca said the total mineable reserve at the coal mine site in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato is approximately 70 million metric tons. “This can possibly support a mine-mouth power plant with an estimated capacity of 740 megawatts for 25 years,” he said.

To allay concerns of environmentalists, socio-civic groups and project-affected people on the adverse impacts the coal plant may have on health and environment, Oca cited methods on how coal mining shall be done and how the site shall be rehabilitated to bring it back to its original form.

Oca said the coal power plant to be built shall make use of the fluidized bed technology which involves efficient combustion process to control air pollutants without the need of installing external emission controls.

Building coal power plants, Oca said, is just one of the many options in addressing the increasing electricity demand.

“With all the rich resources that Mindanao is endowed, it is now a matter of making use of these resources and harnessing them to spur more power generation projects that will stimulate greater economic activities and provide a better quality of life for its people,” he said.