Abundance of coal in RP cited

The country’s largely untapped coal resources have the potential of producing 1,000 to 2,000 megawatts of power with total investment opportunities of up to $2 billion to provide cost effective alternatives to imported oil and coal in the long-term.

In a presentation during the Powertrends business forum, Philippine energy resources veteran and MG Mining and Energy Corp. vice chairman Rufino Bomasang said while local coal is low, new technology can now make use of these for power generation.

He noted that conventional pulverized coal fired power plants worldwide have used very low rank coals, some with much lower heating value than Philippine coals. With current fluidized bed technologies, a power plant can burn coals with a wide range of coal rank and quality.

Bomasang said since the coal shortages in 2003, local coal users have successfully increased their utilization of local coal with little, or no, retrofitting in their respective plants.

Thus, new Philippine power plants are now designing their plants to have the flexibility of maximizing the use of low rank local coal.

There are currently no existing coal mines big enough to fuel major coal-fired power plants, other than Semirara Mining Corp., which produces about three million tons a year.

Outside Semirara, however, there are proven and indicated coal resources large enough to supply major power plants for at least 25 years.

These include Isabela lignite – 150 MW to 300 MW; Cagayan lignite good – at least 100 MW; Surigao del Sur sub-bituminous coal and lignite – 300 MW; South Cotabato sub-bituminous coal – 300 to 900 MW; and Zamboanga-Sibuguey bituminous coal – about 200 MW.

There are several other coal deposits in Cebu, Masbate, Catanduanes, Batan Island, Negros Occidental, and Samar, but are generally in difficult geological condition.

Those in the Cotabato basin, the newest frontier area in coal with the potential to have coal resources as big as, or even bigger than, Semirara, on the basis of surface indications have yet to be fully explored at depth.

Thus, Sultan Energy, the largest concession holder in the area, has recently resumed drilling and is substantially expanding its exploration activities.

While coal mining, especially open pit mining, and coal combustion can potentially have very serious impacts on the environment, these concerns can be substantially minimized, if not totally eliminated, with the use of modern technology.

Open pit coal mining need not permanently damage the environment since the mined out areas can be restored simultaneously with the mining operations.

Coal combustion is potentially more damaging but there have been tremendous developments in coal combustion technology that have substantially reduced emissions of particulates, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides.

The use of these so-called clean technologies increases the cost of coal fired generation, but it still remains the least cost option for power plants that use relatively cheaper indigenous coals.