Slow shift to non-coal energy source must begin now

Considering the decrepit and shoddy operations of the country’s coal-fired generating plants, it has become imperative for the National Government to look for other commercially viable alternative energy sources or processes.

There is so much cheap coal being sold all over the world that poor or developing countries are bound to burn it.

The country is now importing anywhere from P8-billion to P10-billion worth of coal every year to run old generating plants, since the PNOC Coal Corp. was collapsed and downgraded from a producer to a mere trading firm.

The Malampaya natural gas project is a good start. It was capital-intensive, but the value of the reserves in off-shore fields were enough to pay for the infrastructure, labor, returns on investments for the venture capitalist (Ayala, Shell, and other oil firms), and royalty and taxes to the National Government.

However, investment and environmental experts agree on the urgent need to convert to cleaner-burning fuels to run industries and light up homes.

"In particular, the needlessly dirty, unhealthy, and inefficient way in which we use energy is the biggest source of environmental fouling. That is why it makes sense to start a slow shift away from today’s filthy use of fossil fuels towards a cleaner, low-carbon future," according to the July 6 issue of The Economist, a highly respected, internationally circulated, London-based financial magazine.

The Economist warned that the dream of cleaner energy will never be realized as long as the balance is tilted toward dirty technologies.

In the article "Environment enemy No. 1," The Economist cited a new technology called "sequestration," an innovative way of using fossil fuels without releasing carbon into the atmosphere.

"Sequestration offers a fine stepping stone to squeaky clean hydrogen energy. Once the energy trapped in coal is unleashed and its carbon sequestered, energy laden hydrogen can be used directly in fuel cells. These nifty inventions can power a laptop, car or home without any harmful emissions at all," the magazine said.