Clean coal?

ACNN Philippines recent headline read: “At opening of coal plant, Duterte calls for clean energy.” This might seem like a contradiction, urging the private sector to invest in clean energy during the opening of a coal-fired power plant, when coal is said to be the dirtiest of all energy sources. One of the cheapest energy sources, coal is being blamed for causing not only air, soil and water pollution that undermines human health and the environment but for being the biggest contributor to global GHG emissions that trigger climate-change disasters. For instance, in 2013 the strongest typhoon ever to make landfall in history devastated Central Philippines, leaving a trail of death and destruction. Climate-change effects, such as longer wet season and longer dry seasons, also cause enormous damage to food production. In the CNN story, however, Duterte was opening a plant that supposedly invested in clean-coal technology. The owners of the 500-megawatt San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. (SBPL) in Mauban, Quezon, say that, unlike other coal plants, their power plant uses technology that significantly cuts emissions. SBPL is a limited partnership between MGen, Meralco’s power-generation arm, and New Growth BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Electricity Generating Co. of Thailand. “You actually burn the coal more efficiently because of the plant’s high pressure high temperature feature,” said Rogelio Singson, MGen president. Environmental groups like the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace, however, are not convinced. Greenpeace Philippines climate and energy campaigner Reuben Muni said “coal is coal” and there is no such thing as “clean coal.” A report, “Coal: A Public Health Crisis,” was released by Greenpeace along with environmental and public-health interest groups to warn the government and the public about the health impacts of existing coal-fired power plants. The report said coal-fired power plants expose people to toxic pollution, resulting in hundreds of premature deaths every year. It said that deaths due to stroke, heart and other cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory illnesses because of air pollution may go up from the current 960 annual premature deaths to 2,410 deaths per year with the construction and operation of more coal-fired power plants in the country. Yet, despite President Duterte’s recent call to lower the country’s reliance on coal in his last State of the Nation Address, coal remains the country’s leading source of energy. Fitch Solutions Macro Research said it forecasts coal to make up 59.1 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2028. Should the government then focus on bringing in more coal plants, even so-called clean coal technologies, instead of shifting away from all fossil fuels altogether, toward renewable-energy sources like wind and solar power? The WWF-Philippines said the country has a huge renewable energy potential waiting to be tapped. They estimate energy potential from wind at 76,000 MW mainly due to the country’s prevailing monsoons. It also has a whole year-round of good solar irradiation estimated to generate 5-kilowatt-hour per square meter per day in almost all parts of the country. Meanwhile, mountainous tropical landscape provides a good source of hydropower, estimated at 10,500 MW. “Renewable energy is an indigenous source of energy, meaning the resource is available locally and not prone to foreign influences and fuel-price fluctuations. RE can be used to power remote islands with distributed energy systems, saving us the delivery of fuel to remote islands,” WWFPhilippines Energy Project Officer Raphael B. Dorilag said. Perhaps, if we truly want to reduce our carbon footprints for future generations and improve health and quality of life in the country, sticking with coal—even supposedly clean coal—as an energy source might not be the way to go.