Meralco’s Coal Plant Project in Subic has been Canceled

Clean energy advocates and pro-environment and health groups secured another victory recently as the Manila Electric Corporation’s (Meralco) coal-fired power plant project in Subic was canceled.

The cancellation of the 600-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant should also be taken as a signal that similar coal projects are no longer sustainable, said the Power for People Coalition (P4P).

The power plant was a joint venture between Meralco PowerGen, Aboitiz Power Corporation, and Taiwan Cogeneration Corp., all under Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (RP Energy).

“While the cancellation of the Subic coal plant is a welcome development, we no longer find it surprising given the many triumphs that groups advocating for clean energy have won over it,” said Gerry Arances, P4P’s convener, on Wednesday.

Arances, also the convener of Withdraw from Coal, reported that a major bank likewise pulled out from financing another 1,200-MW proposed coal plant project in Quezon City under RP Energy Atimonan One Energy (A1E).

“With years and years of delays, we can only imagine the losses it has had to deal with. We hope the shelving of the Subic project means Meralco is finally starting to see sense and would soon have more coal cancellations to announce,” Arances explained.

Jen Velarmino Van der Heijde, president of the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber for Health and Environment Conservation (SBFCHEC), was proud that they fought for the environment successfully for Subic’s youth.

“With this news, we are able to face the youth and future generations of Subic residents with pride knowing we won the fight against this dirty energy project. We have seen the kind of destruction coal and other fossil fuels wreaked onto other communities in Zambales and across the country,” said Van der Heijde.

Ministry of Ecology of the Diocese of Lucena director Fr. Warren Puno further expressed that the cancellation should serve as a lesson for Meralco and the problems surrounding coal.

“The failure of RP Energy in pursuing its Subic coal plant should already be a lesson learned for Meralco, other coal proponents, and financiers that coal will result in nothing but problems for them in years to come,” said Puno.

Former Meralco president Oscar Reyes earlier announced in February 2015 that the coal plant in Subic would reach around $1 billion in costs. In June of the same year, Meralco dropped the project down to 300 MW due to transmission constraints leading to the budget being slashed.

Meralco is yet to release a statement on the cancellation of their coal-fired power plant project in Subic.

Source: Inquirer