Posted on December, 18 2003

Update March 2004: Power plant rejected!

Update January 2004: Power company not playing by the rules

Manila, the Philippines - WWF is urging the Philippine government to listen to its people and not go ahead with a polluting coal power plant on the island of Panay. According to a study commissioned by WWF-Philippines, the projected power shortage in Panay can be significantly served by renewable energy sources such as hydro, wind, biomass, and geothermal power.
 
Panay's 3 million residents are facing a power crisis that is set to worsen in the near future with the decommissioning of the aging diesel plants that currently supply power to the Island. The proposal put forward by the government and private developer, KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Co.) is to build a 100 Megawatt coal power plant in the town of Banate in the province of Iloilo. This same plant was already proposed in three other districts on the island, but was rejected by residents.
 
The proposed coal-fired plant risks polluting Banate Bay in the Visayan Sea — one of the biggest and most productive fishing grounds in the country. Fishing, along with agriculture, supports the majority of the Panay’s inhabitants. Coal is also the single largest source of global CO2 emissions, the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming and climate change.
 
WWF's study showed that, all costs considered, renewable energy options are cheaper, cleaner and more easily sustainable than coal. These options also build greater energy self-sufficiency.
 
"Renewable energy is the obvious option," says Lory Tan, president of WWF-Philippines. "Clean energy makes sense — economic sense, environmental sense, and political sense."
 
Concerned local NGOs, church-based institutions and individuals have come together to form the Responsible Ilonggos for Sustainable Energy (RISE) group to lobby for a serious study of the possible impacts of the proposed coal project and advocate for viable alternatives using new and renewable energy sources. 
  
"There needs to be a careful assessment of Panay’s indigenous renewable energy resources, and a strong initiative from the private sector to develop these resources," says Lory Tan.

You can help! Sign a petition in support of local communities demanding cleaner, safer alternatives to coal.

Note
WWF-Philippine’s study: Maximizing the use of renewable energy resources in solving the power crisis in Panay by Silverio Navarro, engineer with the Solar Electric Company.
 
For more information: 
Ina Pozon 
Campaign Officer, WWF-Philippines
Tel: +63 9178175778
E-mail: ipozon@wwf.org.ph 
 
Raf Senga 
Climate and Energy Policy Officer, WWF-Philippines
Tel: +63 9178485575
E-mail: rsenga@wwf.org.ph