Gen San, the Darkside

[Dr. Stan]

Not all is well in Sarangani Bay. A huge company has announced plans for a 200 MW COAL fired power plant to be built in Tinoto. Tinoto is the place where South point divers, Sand bar, and the Heitz Hilton are located. If this thing goes through, all the coal dust that gets into the river runoffs and from precipitation will eventually wind up in sarangani bay.
Heres the power plant story
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/gen/2005/12/02/bus/coal.plant.project.in.palimbang.pushed.html

I've been told that the rainbow warrior (greenpeace) is thinking of going down there to protest.

Philippine politicians back Greenpeace Quit Coal call | Greenpeace International

If you dear reader are in a position to help, Please do. I would really hate to lose another playground in the name of "progress".

 

[jigo]

isnt there a clean coal technology now? its not enough to ensure the environment will not be polluted?

 

[Dr. Stan]

Clean coal is a THEORY in processing.... There is also the drilling excavating and purifying of the local coal; then if the local coal is not of a good enough grade, they will need to import. If one of those ships/barges spills its load at partridge point....... Then where do you store the captured carbon dioxide? i think they are thinking of pumping the lot into saranggani bay!

From Wikipedia
Clean coal is the name attributed to coal chemically washed of minerals and impurities, sometimes gasified, burned and the resulting flue gases treated with steam with the purpose of removing sulfur dioxide, and reburned so as to make the carbon dioxide in the flue gas economically recoverable. The coal industry uses the term "clean coal" to describe technologies designed to enhance both the efficiency and the environmental acceptability of coal extraction, preparation and use[1], with no specific quantitative limits on any emissions, particularly carbon dioxide.
The burning of coal, a fossil fuel, has been shown to be one of the principal causes of anthropogenic climate change and global warming, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.[1] The concept of clean coal is said to be a solution to climate change and global warming by coal industry groups, while environmental groups believe it is greenwash. Greenpeace[2] is a major opponent of the concept because emissions and wastes are not avoided, but are transferred from one waste stream to another. The 2007 Australian of the Year, paleontologist and environmental activist Tim Flannery made the assertion that "Coal can't be clean".[3]
There are no coal-fired power plants in commercial production which capture all carbon dioxide emissions, so the process is theoretical and experimental and thus a subject of feasibility or pilot studies. It is has been estimated that it will be 2020 to 2025 before any commercial-scale clean coal power stations (coal-burning power stations with carbon capture and sequestration) are commercially viable and widely adopted.[4] This time frame is of concern to environmentalist because of their belief that there is an urgent need to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and climate change to protect the world economy, according to the Stern report. Even when CO2 emissions can be caught, there is considerable debate over the necessary carbon capture and storage that must follow.


This one from iloilo, explains why clean coal is not possible
Sun.Star Iloilo - Greenpeace: Clean coal not possible

 

[jr.dm]

Coal power plants should be phased out everywhere. This proposed one should not be built at the proposed site, next to one of the best dive sites in the Philippines.

All concerned divers should support Senate Resolution No. 420 filed by Sen. Pia S. Cayetano.

Please talk to as many people as you can. The more people that know about this proposed power plant the better.

Lets hope common sense wins over greed this time.

jr.dm

 

[paolov]

Lets hope common sense wins over greed this time.

jr.dm

there are several geothermal ports in Mindanao !!!

someone or a group of people are going to be very very rich with this coal plants..... it needs coal therefore whoever has the concession to supply the coal CAN NOT SUPPORT ANY PROPOSAL for alternative power generation.

last year alone hundreds of hectares were given concessions for COAL MINING all over the Philippines !!! this is inevitable. no protest can stop it. not even blood on the streets.

 

[jr.dm]

I hope you are wrong that it is inevitable. It will be tuff to fight. But we have to.
The people that want to do it and get rich are already very rich.
Think positive Paolov.

 

[jr.dm]

jigo there is no such thing as clean coal. That is just BS put out by the coal industry.

 

[paolov]

I hope you are wrong that it is inevitable. It will be tuff to fight. But we have to.
The people that want to do it and get rich are already very rich.
Think positive Paolov.

then there is the truth .... greed and fear......

we're doomed ........ Arnold Swazeneger will become president of USA

 

[clgsamson]

then there is the truth .... greed and fear......

we're doomed ........ Arnold Swazeneger will become president of USA

greed is good...you should know because of your work.

Fear is bad because it creates panic in the market...

wala lang mapost, sensya na (kaw na magtranslate)

 

[Kupu]

Reading online news articles, this is my understanding. It sounds like this plant has been in discussion for a number of years, in the beginning Davao Oriental was strongly considered with Sarangani a possibility for the location.

The source of coal was discussed as coming from Kalimantan, Indo and coal mined from South Cotobato. Large coal reserves have been verified near Lake Sebu, so it seems that helped decide on the location. The local coal is lower grade and would require additional processing before it could be used in the plant, so a lot of coal would be coming from Indo. A port complex would be built for this in Maitum or Kiamba.

It sounds like the proposed coal plant could become one the biggest in the Philippines regarding power output. Starting out at 200MW in and possibly ramping up to 900MW later. A proposed 100MW coal plant in Iloilo would be built on a 600 hectare site, I wonder how much land would be used for the Sarangani project?

I see both Maitum and Maasim being considered for the location in news articles earlier this year. Has Tinoto itself been added to the list of possible sites or I'm guessing it is the very close proximity to Maasim you are referring to? Regardless, it is a shame to think of any of the dive sites being affected, whether they are in Tinoto, Maitum, Maasim, Kiamba, etc. Of course, in the big picture, the health of the people living and working in these areas is the big issue. Coal plants do not make for good neighbors.

It would be interesting to see feasibility studies on alternative ways to provide the necessary power vs coal. I doubt this group has much interest in that angle.

Processing facilities and open pit mining around Lake Sebu, coal transport trucks running from the port and mines to the plant, and a effects of a large coal power plant do not make for a pleasant image.