Another Consultation on Coal Plant
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) conducted last Friday a public consultation with the people of Subic, Olongapo City and Zambales province to hear their concerns about the proposed US$ 1.2 billion, 600-MW coal-fired power plant which will be built by Redondo Peninsula Energy, Inc. (RP Energy) at Redondo Peninsula, Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
The public hearing was held at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC) with more than 5,000 people attending, most of whom came from the different barangays, schools, non-government offices (NGO’s) and local government units (LGU’s) in Zambales.
In a comprehensive and easy-to-understand presentation, RP Energy development analyst David Evangelista explained how the Subic coal-fired power plant will adopt the latest environment-friendly technology to ensure there will be negligible emissions.
RP Energy noted that the majority of the people of Zambales support the building of the Subic coal-fired plant to avert power shortages in Luzon in the years to come.
According to Evangelista, “some of them expressed concerns about possible environmental problems once the plant begins to operate, and that is to be expected in a transparent, consultation process. But we assured the community that we are one with them in preserving Subic’s rich environment as we will employ the most modern technologies to ensure negligible emissions”.
Meralco Power Generation Corporation General Manager Aaron Domingo reiterated that “the project will help provide the much-needed competitive and reliable capacity to contribute to the economic development of Luzon while making sure that environmental and health concerns are addressed through proper technologies and state-of-the-art equipment”.
Earlier, Department of Energy (DOE) secretary Rene Almendras told Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) president Robert Garcia that the Subic power plant would play a crucial role in the long-term viability of the Luzon power grid.
Almendras said that electricity consumption will increase on the average by 4.38-percent annually from 2012 to 2018, and if no power generation plant is built on the island in the next five years, there would be substantial and recurring power shortages in Luzon.
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