Ledesma: Coal power

Sunstar Davao

CLEAN coal has become an acceptable source of energy. It is reputed to be environment friendly and not as hazardous to health as diesel-fed generators. The Aboitiz Group is planning to set up one to augment the power supply for Davao City. Let’s face it. This southern capital has become a dynamic growth center of the country owing to its favorable investment climate. Blame the Duterte brand of leadership for the kind of environment we have that is drawing in capital which spur the city’s development. There are dire consequences when industrial growth and commerce grow, among them the need for additional energy to sustain growth, migration which leads to increase in population, rising needs for transport and supplies of basic commodities.

We cannot just idly watch and content ourselves with what we can derive from the present sources of power, commodities and transport. City planners and our political leaders should be as dynamic as the growth of Davao City. It is noteworthy that Aboitiz Group is forward looking. The Aboitiz may have deeply rooted in Cebu, but our own Ernie Aboitiz loved it in Davao and during his prime focused his energies to make Davao and Mindanao evolved. It may have been this avuncular attachment of the Aboitizes that their present generation sustained their commitment to guarantee power supply to Davao City.

I am in accord with Mon Aboitiz, the top honcho of Aboitiz Power and Vice Mayor Rody Duterte that green coal is environment friendly. With new technologies involved in the utilization of clean coal hazardous emissions have been dramatically reduced. What is significant here is that the technology makes use of low-grade bituminous coal which is abundant in Davao and Surigao provinces in that it can increase the BTU rating of low-grade coal.

While Aboitiz is at it moreover, I think they should continue looking for other cheaper source of energy like hydro-power plants. There ought to be some synergy between government and power-producing firms like Aboitiz. In Davao del Norte for example, Gov. Dolfo del Rosario has been egging the government to build a dam in Saug river in Asuncion to irrigate about 12,000 hectares of idle but arable lands. He said that they already have a feasibility study on this which actually cost the provincial government a good sum of money. Governor Dolfo had been pushing this project for the national government to fund but to no avail. It would cost something like P800-million then but that could balloon to a billion pesos now. What the governor is telling us is that aside from irrigation, the dam can be tap for hydro-power and that it can also supply potable water to at least five towns in the province.

Now that President Aquino has declared the Philippines is open for business maybe the provincial government can invite investors like Aboitiz Power to go it alone or in partnership with either the national or provincial government. There are some constraints in the government side but then? What is it in power for for as long as it is for the good of the people.

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Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on October 08, 2010.