Veco: Natural gas is clean, but there's not enough supply
By Fayette C. Ri�en
CEBU CITY, July 9 (PIA) -- Though natural gas is the cleaner energy source, coal remains the country's "power of choice" as it is the more abundant resource available.
Sebastian Lacson, senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Visayas Electric Company (Veco) said that apart from its abundance, power generation using coal is relatively cheap.
Lacson said that while coal byproducts are harmful, there are available technology to control these. Cebu’s main power supply comes from geothermal sourced from the Leyte-Panay grid and coal-fired power plants here.
Lacson said Cebu and the rest of the Visayas have stable supply of electricity for the next two to three years. “We are okay now until three years at the most but after, we really need additional power plants” to address the rising demand of power from the industries to a growing population,” he added.
The Veco executive said power from coal plants can provide a steady and stable power supply.
He added that while geothermal power is clean, a plant should be built near a source to maximize its capacity.
Solar, wind and hydro as renewable energy (RE) sources are expensive to operate at the moment because of unpredictability. Lacson said wind turbines need sustained powerful winds.
Although Lacson said RE sources are clean with no emissions but for power investors, baseload is very essential or sustainability of energy source.
Government on the other hand, is pushing for RE sources for a long-term solution to address the electricity needs of the country which at the same time advocates for clean energy as this does not produce greenhouse emissions.
President Aquino in mid-June last year launched the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) of the Department of Energy (DOE) with the basic goal of finding long-term and sustainable energy sources amid the instability of prices and supply of imported fuel.
Under the NREP, the DOE said the country aims to triple renewable energy-based capacity from 5.400 megawatts in 2010 to 15,300 megawatts in 2030. (FCR-PIA7 Cebu)