Manila Bulletin
By NONOY E. LACSON
May 3, 2012, 3:00pm
PAGADIAN CITY – In an objective to alleviate the prevailing power crisis in Mindanao, the provincial government of Zamboanga del Sur has expressed willingness to host the establishment of a nuclear power plant in the region.
Governor Antonio Cerilles said hosting a nuclear power plant in this part of Mindanao will help ease the power crisis in the island.
Cerilles said nuclear power is more efficient compared to most of the renewable and other type of energy sources, like geothermal, wind-powered, and solar energy.
He said adopting a geothermal, wind, and solar energy are not vi¬able in Mindanao since these power sources are highly dependent on environmental and economic conditions.
“If we build the (nuclear) power plant now, this will not only answer the power crisis that we are facing today but will also answer the power crisis for the next many years,” Cerilles said.
He explained that “nuclear power plant releases a million times more energy as compared to other alterna¬tive renewable energy sources and fossil fuel that will result to cheaper electricity.”
Cerilles claimed that the biggest advantage of nuclear energy is that there is no release of “greenhouse gases.”
According to Cerilles, geothermal and wind energy is dependent on geographical locations, while solar energy, on the other hand, is also expensive since solar-type of energy source requires a large area where solar panel can be installed to achieve a sustainable level of efficiency, and no solar energy will be produced dur¬ing nighttime.
Cerilles said the national government is planning to set up two coal-fired power plants in Mindanao to ease the power shortage, but this solution, Cerilles said, “will only add to the environmental hazard, which is the result of the recent hype on climate change.”
Citing recent studies of energy experts, Cerilles said coal-fired power plants will speed up global warming by filling the atmosphere with vast amounts of carbon dioxide. On average, one 500-megawatt coal power plant produces approximately three million tons per year of carbon dioxide.
Every year, fine particle emissions from power plants are believed to cut short the lives of 30,000 people, he said, citing studies.
“The nuclear power plants that we are going to build will be foolproof and it will be designed with the latest safety features modeled in today’s nuclear power plant that has been seen worldwide,” he said.
Records of the World Nuclear Association (WNA), an international organization that promotes nuclear energy, indicated that in 2011, there were 443 operating nuclear power reactors spread across the planet in 47 countries.
In 2009, atomic energy accounted for 14 percent of the world’s electrical production. In the United States, 104 nuclear power plants supply some 20 percent of the electricity overall, he said.
In another development, the Region-9 office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE-9) has turned-over garment-making equipment and materials worth P490,000 to the local government Dipolog City aimed at providing alternative livelihood to the unemployed women sector.
DOLE-9 Director Sisinio Cano personally turned over the garment-making equipment and materials to the city government during ceremo¬nies held at the Livelihood Skills De¬velopment and Enhancement Center (LSDEC) in Galas, Dipolog City.
City Mayor Evelyn T. Uy led the ribbon-cutting ceremony, symbolizing the formal turnover of the garment-making equipment from DOLE-9 to the city government.
The garment-making equipment consists of a cutting machine, a piping machine, an edging machine, 10 high-speed sewing machines, and sewing tools and accessories. source
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