Sunday, March 16, 2008 Oppose coal power plants, Zubiri urges
SEN. Juan Miguel Zubiri yesterday said the government and the people ought to discourage the construction and installation of coal-powered plants, which are considered the biggest contributors of global pollution.
Speaking at the Rotary International district conference at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) yesterday, Zubiri discussed “The State of the Health and Hunger Situation in the Philippines.”
Coal-powered bunker fuel plants must be stopped, he said, because these will cause more health problems.
In Cebu, the Naga Power Plant Complex owned by the National Power Corp. (NPC) and operated under contract by Salcon Power Corp. uses coal and bunker fuel.
Salcon and Korean Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) have a joint venture for the construction of two 100-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plants that are expected to augment power supply in Cebu by 2010. Salcon and Kepco will jointly invest US$270 million for the coal power plant project.
Although some City of Naga residents and non-government organizations (NGOs) have protested the project, President Arroyo has already given it her go-signal.
Costs
Zubiri, however, cited media reports about the links between the declining fertility rate in China and the presence of pollution and mercury poisoning, among other factors. China is the world’s largest producer of coal-fired energy.
“So, instead of pushing for this type of dirty fuel…no matter if they say it’s clean coal energy, that’s all baloney. No matter how much they say it’s screened, that’s baloney. We have to go for renewable energy projects like wind power and solar power,” Zubiri said.
“We have the Renewable Energy Bill that we were able to submit and is now on its second reading. We must push for energy production that should not compromise the people’s health,” Zubiri said. (EOB)
