Group urges use of clean coal technology in manufacturing

USING clean coal technology will help keep the prices of commodities low because it is a cheaper fuel source for production, a group of canning plants and industrial companies based in Zamboanga City said on Tuesday.

“Industrial companies such as sardine canning factories are touting the use of clean coal technology in food- manufacturing plants to keep prices of commodities low amid opposition against coal,” the Industrial Group of Zamboanga, Inc. ( IGZI) said in a statement.

Zamboanga is known as the Sardines Capital of the Philippines because it hosts 12 giant canning and sardine factories.

IGZI’s statement comes amid strong opposition to building more coal-fired power plants in the country.

IGZI Executive Director Roberto Valerio said food manufacturing plants have employed technologies to ensure clean emission in using coal.

Valerio explained that industrial companies use carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) methods to “significantly reduce the carbon footprint of coalusing plants.”

He said canning and oil milling industries in the province and other parts of the country have shifted to coal from bunker fuel to fire up their boilers since about 10 years ago.

He said coal- using food production plants and coal- fired power plants do not make the same environmental impact, noting that food production plants consume at least “10 times lower” the amount of coal used by power plants.

“If you look at environmental degradation, there’s none. The transportation sector has an even worst environmental effect,” he added.

“As the most affordable and accessible energy source, coal remains an important player in the energy mix, prompting IGZI and other groups to advocate for its cleanest possible utilization,” the group said.

The London- based World Coal Association is promoting the use of nextgeneration clean technology for developing economies in Southeast Asia including the Philippines. It is pushing for highefficiency low- emission ( HELE) clean- coal equipment installations such as integrated gasification combined cycle ( IGCC) and integrated gasification fuel cell cycle ( IGFC). Last month, Laban Konsyumer Inc. ( LKI) urged the government to continue using coal for industries that produce basic goods amid the spike in prices brought about by the implementation of the tax reform law this year.

“Coal at the moment remains the number one source of electricity in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Coal is also the cheapest energy resource,” LKI President Victorio Mario Dimagiba said at the time.