WHILE warnings are still being issued about the potential of brownouts for the coming summer season, there is good news about the power situation in Mindanao. The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) has reported that for the first time since 2009 the region will have excess power supply this year.
Power generation supply in the Philippines has been in a roller-coaster ride from decades, varying between reasonable amounts of reserve to absolute shortages. Every presidential administration has tried to solve this issue once and for all and has not fully succeeded. It always seems to be a case of trying to find some stop-gap measure while preparing for a longer term solution that never seems to materialize. This is not acceptable if the country is to fulfill its economic potential.
Obviously it is necessary to build enough power generating facilities. But this simple solution is not simple at all.
So many other considerations must be taken into account beyond the idea of producing electricity including costs, efficiency, and of course the ever present and perhaps most hindering factor, environmental concerns.
While the environment is an important issue, would humans ever have discovered the use of fire if all the concerns about using fire would have had to be solved first?
There are many sources of power to generate electricity and none seem to address all the concerns. There is not a single source that provides complete cost effectiveness, minimal pollution, feasibility, and reliability either in the short or longer term. Every source of energy can be seen to offer its own advantages and disadvantages.
There is not a perfect source of power generation. Therefore an ‘all-of-the-above’ solution must be implemented taking in account location, the actual power required, and the long term benefits.
Some people strongly object to coal-fired power plants. There is a general feeling against nuclear power plants. The use of crude oil as a power source has its drawbacks. Wind and solar has its limitations.
Mindanao, perhaps because of necessity, is utilizing all the sources of power.
The “Therma South” power plant in Davao City will generate 300- megawatts (MW) using coal as its fuel source as will Sarangani Energy Corp.’s 200-MW. Further, the Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee says that a total of 231 Renewable Energy projects from hydro, biomass, geothermal, and solar spread across Mindanao could potentially generate at least 2,419 MW of sustainable power for the region between 2020 and 2025.
Romeo Montenegro, MinDA director for Investment Promotions and Public Affairs said “A diversified mix of fossil and renewable-energy sources is integral to our overall strategy of pursuing balanced and holistic economic growth in Mindanao”.
It is time to stop looking for the perfect solution and create a firm national policy on electricity generation that does not pander to every opinion as to what is ‘good’ energy and what is not.
Image credits: Jimbo Albano