SUAL, Pangasinan – A recent study shows air
quality in this coastal town remains at normal level despite the presence of
the 1,218 megawatt coal-fired power plant.
The study was conducted by AECOM PHILIPPINES,
Incorporated, an established and
reputable international research and
consultancy firm whose mother unit is
listed in the Fortune 500 list.
With a generating capacity of 1,218
megawatts, the Sual Power Station is the largest and most cost-effective
coal-fired power plant in the country. It was built in 1996 to ease the
country’s energy crisis back then.
It was conducted based on the guidelines set
by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources which mandated regular
environmental monitoring in this first class municipality which hosts the
biggest coal-fired power plant in the country.
AECOM Philippines conducted the study in
eleven critical receptor sites around the municipality based on Administrative
Order No. 2000-81 Air Standards and Guidelines of the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources and those standards set by the National Pollution
Commission pursuant to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
Air samplings were taken pertaining to Total
Suspended Particles (TSP), Particulate Matters (PM), Gaseous Pollutants such as
Nitrogen Di0xide, Sulfur Dioxide and Coarse Particulate.
These samplings usually are the result of
burning fossil fuel like coal, fuel oil, diesel and gasoline, as well as
different kinds of dust carried by the wind.
Among the monitoring areas were Sitio Longos
in barangay Pangascasan where the coal power plant is located, Resettlement Area in Poblacion, Pangascasan Integrated School, Ash
Disposal Area of the power plant, Bangayao Point, Cabalitian Pier, Cabalitian
Amianan, Masamerey, Baybay Elementary School, Napo-Logolog Elementary
School, and Baybay Sur.
“All stations are within the standards set
by Department Administrative Order No. 2000-81 or the National Ambient Air
Quality Standards, and in terms of Total Suspended Particles concentration, the
air quality in the ambient air quality monitoring stations is good based on DAO
2000-81,” the study said.
Mayor
Roberto Arcinue said this development is a welcome news among residents here
who are supporting the construction of a second coal-fired power plant that is
expected to generate an additional 1,000 megawatts.
Aside
from providing hundreds of jobs and millions in extra revenues, a second power
plant would ensure stable power supply that is conducive to economic progress
and sustainable growth, he added.
“With
stable and cheaper electricity we will be able to invite more investors to put
up projects and business ventures in Sual and anywhere else in Pangasinan that
would mean more jobs and income for our people,” Mayor Arcinue stressed.
He
said there should be no problem about pollution as the proponent, Korean Power
Electric Company-Philippines, is investing about two billion US dollars and
would use the state- of the art technology called the ultra-super critical
coal-fired power plant which at present
is considered as a “High Efficiency Low Emission (HELE) Technology” and as a
“green technology”.
Its
high efficiency can reach of up to 45% which substantially cut its GHG emission
by 30% compared to its predecessors or older coal fired power plants having
efficiencies as low as 33% only.
Arcinue
said this will boost and stabilize the power supply for the Luzon grid to do
away with frequent power interruptions.
The
construction of the second coal-fired power plant, he added, dovetails with the
pronouncement of President Duterte who stressed the need to put up more
coal-fired power plants to avert another power crisis owing to ballooning
population and influx of investors.
Duterte said he sees nothing wrong with the
government’s plan to put up new coal-fired power plants to boost power supply
in the country.
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