Aborlan power station

{{#badges:CoalSwarm|Navbar-Philippinescoal}} Aborlan power station is a 15-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant proposed to be built in Aborlan, a municipality on Palawan Island, the Philippines, by DMCI Power Corporation. The proposal has been the subject of strong opposition, and a previous proposal to locate the project at Narra was withdrawn in the wake of local protest.

Location

The map below shows the location of Aborlan, the municipality where the plant is proposed to be built. The map also shows the location of Narra, the location previously proposed.

Project Details

Sponsor: DMCI Power Corporation, a subsidiary of DMCI Holdings
Location: Aborlan, Palawan, Philippines
Coordinates: 9.433333, 118.55 (location of Aborlan but not the exact location of the plant)
Status:
Nameplate capacity: 15 MW
Type:
Projected in service:
Coal Type:
Coal Source:
Estimated annual CO₂:
Source of financing:

Public opposition

In July 2012, DMCI Power signed a power supply agreement with the Palawan Electric Cooperative, with the intent of building a 15 MW coal plant in Narra, in the province of Palawan. The Palawan Alliance for Clean Energy, as well as the Katala Foundation, opposed the plant, along with local activists; the Katala Foundation argued that building the plant near a local marine protected area posed a risk for the critically endangered Philippine Cockatoo. The Mayor of Narra, Lucy Demaala, also opposed the issuing of a permit for the plant.

In June 2013, the municipal council of Narra voted for a resolution opposing construction of the plant. Council member Joel Bito-onon, author of the resolution, told the news media: "We will have electricity but that also means our youth will die due to the smoke from the plant. It will also affect the sources of livelihood of Narra residents. What’s more important, life or electricity?"

In August 2013, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development - the environmental regulatory agency in Palawan - refused to issue a permit for the construction of the plant in Narra, demanding that the site be changed and that the permit application process begin anew.

DMCI subsequently decided to try to build the plant in Aborlan instead; however, the new site is near a fish sanctuary, and locals are concerned that the plant would impact the livelihoods of local fishers. On Sept. 30, about 1,500 local citizens and students marched in protest against building the plant in Aborlan. Lita Sopsop, the Dean of Arts & Sciences at the Western Philippines University in Aborlan, stated that "we oppose the coal plant because of the negative impacts on health and the environment, particularly to locally declared fish sanctuaries in the area. Fishing is the livelihood of people there. The discharge of waste water from the coal plant will cause thermal pollution that is hazardous to the marine ecosystem, especially coral reefs."

Several environmental organizations have also voiced their opposition to the proposed Aborlan site. Alexander Ochs, an official of the Wildlife Institute, said the project will harm both people and the environment. The World Wildlife Fund has claimed that Palawan risks losing its status as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve if the plant is built. According to Gerthie Mayo-Anda of the Palawan Alliance for Clean Energy, the coal plant would produce energy at a cost of 9.38 Philippine pesos per kWh, compared with P6.59/kWh for a proposed hydropower project.

In October 2013, DMCI Chair Isidro Consunji stated that "protest against the construction comes from NGO[s]... we are not worried, because we are confident that the construction at Aborlan will push through smoothly."

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