Phl should pursue better clean coal technology

TOKYO, Japan — The Philippines should pursue better clean coal technology (CCT) in putting up coal-fired power plants to support its growing economy and at the same time, lowers its carbon emissions.

Japan Energy Coal Center (JCOAL), a government-mandated institution that covers upstream to downstream of the coal value chain, has expressed its willingness to work with the Philippines and neighboring countries to have more efficient coal-fired power plants.

“Japan is ready to work with Philippines and ASEAN countries to pursue better and more advanced CCTs…through programs for technical application as well as for advancement of understanding of immense advantages which those technologies will provide with,” said Masahiro Ozawa, deputy director for advanced thermal power plant technology group of JCOAL.

Established in 1990, JCOAL has been engaging in bridging, coordinating and mediating work between government, public sector and private players for development and introduction of highly efficient CCT.

JCOAL is also working with other countries for research and development, technical exchange, diagnosis, among others as it advocates for clean, efficient and sustainable coal utilization.

“Japan is ready to share with Philippines and ASEAN member states a set of best practices in terms of both technology/technique, regulatory framework and environmental responsibility, all of which remain important, regardless of the technology we will use for coal-fired power generation,” Ozawa said.

Continuous innovation in the power industry has been Japan’s key in supporting its economy, which is the third largest in the world.

Coal has been a major power source for the country, even with the industrial revolution which made oil a more affordable option in the 20th century.

Now, even with newer technologies in harnessing power from liquefied natural gas (LNG), Japan has been consistently pursuing technology development and utilization of CCT for lowering emissions.

It has been 20 years since Japan first operated its first coal-fired ultra supercritical (USC) power plant whereas the Philippines has yet to develop such facility.

Japan currently has 95 coal-fired power plants with a capacity of 41,273 megawatts (MW), more than half of which are running on USC technology, JCOAL president Osamu Tsukamoto said in a briefing here.

Japan’s total capacity from coal plants could already supply the Philippines’ energy requirements until 2040.

“There’s not so much strong opposition to coal; it’s more on nuclear,” Tsukamoto said.

In the Philippines, the first of coal plant with USC technology would be under Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), the power generating unit of power distribution giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

Through its subsidiary Atimonan One Energy Inc. (A1E), it is developing a 2x600-megawatt (MW) coal-fired ultra supercritical power plant.

Originally, A1E was supposed to be a supercritical coal plant but it was upgraded to an USC power plant to have less emissions and more efficiency in operations.

“We continue to seek and look for best practices in the utilization of clean coal technology. We wish to continue to understand the available technologies that will ensure the efficient and environmental sustainability of this power resource,” MGen vice president and external affairs head Litz Santana said.