LOPEZ-LED Energy Development Corp. (EDC) on Wednesday called on the Duterte administration to support the development of more geothermal projects, saying it is cheap, reliable and clean.
EDC President Richard Tantoco said the country cannot depend on coal-fired power plants for stable prices because coal is no longer a cheap power-plant fuel. Its price, in fact, is erratic, he noted.
“Indonesian coal was $44 a metric ton in February and just a couple of weeks ago, it reached $110 [per metric ton]. So, what does that mean for the Filipino consumers, going out to the future?” Tantoco said.
EDC, the country’s largest geothermal-energy producer, is the renewable-energy (RE) arm of First Gen Corp., the country’s leading clean and RE producer.
Tantoco said geothermal is not only a clean and RE source, but its cost, as well as supply, is stable. He said there is risk on relying heavily on a single fuel source, because if that fuel source encounters supply shortages or sharp price increases, consumers will suffer.
“Even if it [coal] stabilizes into $80 [per metric ton], it doesn’t mean ‘cheap’ energy is here to stay. That’s why we’re pushing very hard for geothermal to happen; because if you make it happen, it provides stable, base load and clean energy,” he said.
Tantoco said EDC’s focus on developing geothermal and other RE sources reflects the company’s recognition of the need to lessen the buildup in the atmosphere of more carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases blamed for global warming and climate change.
Use of geothermal power, which is an indigenous energy source, also helps the government save on foreign exchange that otherwise would pay for imported fuel sources, like coal. Scientific studies have tagged the power-generation industry, especially carbon-intensive, coal-fired power plants, as one of the main reasons behind adverse weather patterns associated with climate change, such as floods, droughts, as well as more destructive and more frequent typhoons similar in magnitude to Supertyphoon Yolanda.
In explaining support for coal, government officials earlier said the country contributes a minimal amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But Tantoco said for a country vulnerable to climate change-related disasters, that small amount has huge impacts on Filipinos, especially indigent ones.
The EDC official cited a 10-year study conducted by a European group showing the Philippines suffered 320 weather loss-related events over a 10-year period.
“The Philippines is the single, most vulnerable nation on earth; it recorded 320 events in 10 years compared to just 220 for Bangladesh and Thailand. So we are the most vulnerable,” Tantoco noted.
“Every single ton of carbon we throw out to the atmosphere is detrimental…. It’s not the people who trade in the stock exchange who are going to get affected; it’s the poorest of the poor. So we have to work hand in hand to decarbonize the energy sector,” Tantoco said.
He also reaffirmed EDC’s willingness to work hand in hand with government in developing clean and RE sources that do not aggravate the country’s vulnerability to disasters associated with adverse climate change.
“We are pushing for geothermal energy because it’s stable and clean. We are also developing more solar projects,” Tantoco said.
EDC’s focus on developing geothermal and other RE sources is part of the company’s and the Lopez Group’s commitment for a decarbonized future.