Non-government organizations (NGOs) in Puerto Princesa City involved in the sustainable protection of the environment and care for the health of the people of Palawan strongly and vehemently opposed Monday the proposed 15-megawatt circulating fluidized bed coal-fired power plant by the David Mendoza Consunji, Inc. (DMCI) Power Corporation.
In a public hearing MOnday, lawyer Grizelda Mayo-Anda of the Environment Legal Assistance Council (ELAC) said they are against the coal-fired power plant because “it is the dirtiest sources of power, and it contravenes existing environmental management and conservation programs and policies; there is no safe way to dispose off coal fly ash; and it will be situated in an ecologically sensitive area.”
Anda said Panacan is very close to Rasa Island, a protected area because of its critically endangered Philippine cockatoo inhabitants; and the Victoria Anipaan Range, a mountain in the central of Palawan, which forms the largest adjoining land area and second highest portion of the Mount Beaufort Ultrafamics geological region.
“It’s not befitting to have a coal-fired power plant in Palawan. Not here, not in a key biodiversity area. No coal in Palawan, please,” she appealed in behalf of the other NGOs to DMCI, the Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO), and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) that invited the public hearing.
Based on findings from the Union of Concerned Scientists National Headquarters by ELAC, she stressed that:
[] Burning coal is a leading cause of smog, acid rain, global warming, and air toxics. In an average year, a typical coal plant generates 3,700,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary human cause of global warming – as much as carbon dioxide as cutting down 161 million trees.
[] 10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), which causes acid rain that damages forests, lakes, and buildings, and forms small airborne particles that can penetrate deep into lungs.
[ ] 500 tons of small airborne particles, which can cause chronic bronchitis, aggravated asthma, and premature death, as well as haze obstructing visibility.
[ ]10, 200 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx), as much as would be emitted by half a million late-model cars. NOx leads to formation of ozone (smog) which inflames the lungs, burning through lung tissue making people more susceptible to respiratory illness.
[ ] 720 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), which causes headaches and place additional stress on people with heart disease.
[ ] 220 tons of hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOC), which form ozones.
[ ] 170 pounds of mercury, where just 1/70th of a teaspoon deposited on a 25-acre lake can make the fish unsafe to eat.
[ ] 225 pounds of arsenic, which will cause cancer in one out of 100 people who drink water containing 50 parts per billion.
[ ] 114 pounds of lead, 4 pounds of cadmium, other toxic heavy metals, and trace amounts of uranium.
“The risks are just too high, and the guarantees are not in place. The project has no disposal plan of the bottom ash,” Anda said. “With due respect to DMCI, the Philippines is actually looking for a disposal area. Right now, it has a problem disposing coal waste.”
The NGOs are suggesting that the DMCI consider renewable energy (RE) to generate power in Palawan, but George Baquiran, who is a geologist, said this is not practical under the deadline they were given by the PALECO to deliver the requirements of the agreement they signed.
He also explained that if they propose Biomass, the sustainability and dependability of the fuel source is not certain, and they would need to invest $ 3 million per megawatt. The same thing if the renewal energy to employ is wind, $ 3.5 million per megawatt is needed based on the European experience.
On the suggestion that solar energy be used, Baquiran presented that the current technology is very expensive and thermally inefficient; dependability and reliability of power generation is uncertain; viability of solar power in Palawan for utility operation is not established; and the estimated investment needed is between $ 10-15 million.
If coal-fired will be employed, he said it is technologically mature, and that the requirements to safeguard the environment have pushed the industry to develop and use inherently cleaner combustion technology, for example, the circulating fluidized bed combustion.
“The coal-fired power plant can produce the required baseload power, and there is no dependence on water, sun or wind,” Baquiran told the attendees of the public hearing.
Fuel, he added, also has sufficient supply, and available within the Asian region. One of the proposed sources of coal is Semirara mining, which Anda said is the producer of the lowest quality of coal in the country.
The coal-fired power plant construction will put in place a CFB boiler, steam turbine and condenser, generator, transformers and switch gears, covered coal yard with handling facilities, coal unloading pier, and seawater cooling system.
Another question that cropped up during the public hearing was the company’s plan to dispose off the bottom ash considering that the plant would need roughly 5,000 tons of coal on a monthly basis. [PNA]
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