Proposed coal-fired power plant had complied with Clean Air Act requirement – DMCI

An article that came out on page 9 of the Inquirer on Oct. 25, 2012 said DMCI has shrugged off the opposition to the coal-fired power plant, stating that it is merely exercising its contractual obligation to put up the plant as specified in its bid and approved by Paleco.

“If we are not issued a permit, there are other options available,” said DMCI President Nestor Dadivas.

DMCI insisted, however, that the proposed plant, to be built applying the latest “circulating fluidized bed” technology, had complied with the emissions cap prescribed in the country’s Clean Air Act.

They added that carbon emissions did not factor in their compliance “because worldwide there is no established standard on carbon emissions.”

“We cannot anticipate the law that will put a cap on carbon emissions. There is none of that right now,” stressed DMCI Vice President George Baquiran.

DMCI had sponsored two groups of Palawan stakeholders to visit the Panay Power Corp. coal-fired plant in Iloilo to show a “best practice” example of a supposedly “green” coal plant in operation and make the argument that such facility could be replicated in a setting like Palawan.