Aboitiz subsidiary submits carbon sink plan

Sunstar Davao
Thursday, January 17, 2013

ABOITIZ Power (AP) subsidiary Therma South Inc. (TSI), which proposed to establish a 300-megawatt circulating fluidized bed coal fired power plant in Davao City, submitted its Carbon Sink Management Plan (CSMP) to the City Council.

In her privilege speech, Councilor Marissa P. Salvador-Abella, chair of committee on environment and natural resources, said the CSMP, which was submitted on January 3, is one of the requirements needed to comply with the city ordinance on reclassifying parcels of land located in Barangay Binugao, Toril District.

“The overall goal of CSMP is to establish a carbon sequestration scheme as mitigation to the emission of its power plant and to promote and achieve sustainability in forest conservation in Marilog, Davao City,” Abella said.

According to her, a carbon sink is a natural or artificial reservoir that accumulates and stores some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period.

The process by which carbon sinks remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is known as carbon sequestration, she said.

She said the total project cost for the 10-year implementation of CSMP from 2013-2023 is about P30 million.

“This amount will cover capability building demonstration site, nursery establishment and development and administrative costs,” Abella said.

She said the TSI’s CSMP noted that 13.5 percent of generated power will be utilized by the plant and will not be mitigated.

“This 13.5 percent will serve as the emission that will have to be carbon neutralized by TSI. Thus, using USEPA emission factor for coal-fired power plant, the equivalent amount of CO2 to be sequestered is about 146, 000 tons. Consequently, the Green House Has (GHG) emission mitigation will be to sequester 146,000 tons per year of CO2 by planting trees in the upland areas of Marilog Davao City and Coronon, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur,” Abella said.

She said the business unit of Aboitiz will plant falcata, mangium and yemane in 950-1000 hectares, with approximately 800-1000 trees per hectare. Incidentally, all three species are not endemic to the Philippines. (ANC) source