By:
Daxim L. Lucas - 12:24 AM December 15, 2016
Energy Development
Corp. (EDC) has urged the Duterte administration to support more geothermal
projects and veer away from coal-fuel power plants, arguing that geothermal was
a clean, renewable energy source whose supply was also affordable and stable.
In a statement, EDC
president and COO Richard Tantoco said the country could not depend on coal
plants for stable prices because, contrary to perception, coal was no longer a
cheap power plant fuel.
“Indonesian coal [cost]
$44 a metric ton in February and just a couple of weeks ago it reached $110
[per metric ton],” he said. “So, what does that mean for the Filipino consumers
going out to the future?”
Tantoco explained that
there was a risk associated with relying heavily on a single fuel source
because if that fuel source encounters supply shortages or sharp price
increases, consumers would suffer higher electricity rates.
“Even if it [coal]
stabilizes into 80 [dollars per metric ton] it doesn’t mean ‘cheap’ energy is
there to stay,” he added. “That’s why we’re pushing very hard for geothermal to
happen; because if you make it happen, it provides stable base load and clean
energy.”
Tantoco said that EDC’s
focus on developing geothermal and other renewable energy sources reflected the
company’s recognition of the need to lessen the buildup in the atmosphere of more
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that have been blamed for global
warming and climate change.
Use of geothermal
power, which is an indigenous energy source, also helped the government save on
foreign exchange that otherwise would pay for imported fuel sources like coal,
he pointed out.
Studies have tagged the
power-generation industry, especially carbon-intensive coal-fired power plants,
as one of the main reasons behind adverse weather patterns associated with
climate change, including floods, droughts as well as more destructive and more
frequent typhoons similar in magnitude to Supertyphoon Yolanda, said the
company that is controlled by the Lopez family.
In explaining support
for coal, government officials earlier explained that the country contributed a
minimal amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
But Tantoco pointed out
that, for a country that is most vulnerable to climate change-related
disasters, that small amount has huge impact on Filipinos, especially indigent
ones.
The EDC official cited
a 10-year study conducted by a European group showing the Philippines suffered
320 weather loss-related events over a 10 year period.
“The Philippines is the
single, most vulnerable nation on earth; it recorded 320 events in 10 years
compared to just 220 for Bangladesh and Thailand. So we are the most
vulnerable,” Tantoco noted.
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