Redondo Power Plant Monitoring and Visual Impact

Consistent with the Subic Chamber’s objective to be part of the Redondo coal-fired power plant multi-partite monitoring team (MMT) and to lessen its visual impact to tourism, the Chamber has written the project proponent, RP Energy, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) along this line.

The letter aimed to provide recommendations that will help ensure compliance of the Redondo plant to standard emissions and to mitigate its visual impact to tourism.

Subic Bay has become a premier tourism destination with billions of pesos invested by foreign and local companies. We seek to minimize the coal plant’s effect on us.

The recommendations, of which parts were extracted from the letter and listed below, are consistent with the mandate and principles of the SBFCC, which is to serve and represent its member businesses and to ensure environmental protection for the benefit of Subic Bay stakeholders.

1. Full transparency of emissions data

Emissions data that is open and readily available to the public—this is how we envision we can get participation and acceptance from the broadest range of stakeholders. We recommended to RPE and DENR, therefore, that emissions monitoring data and statistics be made available to the public in real time, or close to one, via an Internet website.

Compliance monitoring especially for environmentally-critical projects such as the Redondo power plant requires vigilance from DENR and various stakeholders. In the light of limited resources of the DENR, what better and cost-effective way to monitor emissions data than crowd-source the job to the very people who have interest in it.

The SBFCC believes that full transparency will gain DENR and RPE the trust of the public who has gone wary because of the perceived environmental impacts of the project.

2. Inclusion of the SBFCC to the MMT

The MMT is a required mechanism under the Environmental Impact Statement System (EISS) and that it aims to encourage public participation and greater stakeholder’s vigilance. The SBFCC aims to be part of the MMT.

The SBFCC is an independent, nonprofit, membership-funded organization founded in 1995 inside the SBF. We are actively involved in a number of areas and are at the forefront of issues, the environment included, affecting our member businesses, their employees, and their families. Our members come from some 20 countries around the world.

The SBFCC has the credibility and stature in the SBF community. We are committed, have a high sense of civic duty, are capable and readily available, and should be a good fit to the monitoring team.

The SBFCC, in fact, have been very much involved with the Redondo coal-fired power plant issue since 2005. We have attended all public hearings and have submitted several letters of which three were to the DENR.

We were surprised, therefore, upon knowing just this month that the Memorandum of Agreement on the Creation of the Multi-Partite Monitoring Team and Environmental Monitoring Fund was already executed in 2010 with the SBFCC not even considered. In fact, there was not one Non-Government Organization (NGO) on it which seems to be in violation of DENR Administrative Order No. 37 Section 11.0 (Composition of the MMT) which specifies, to wit:

“…In all cases, the MMT shall be composed of representatives of the proponent and of a broad spectrum of stakeholder groups, including representatives from the LGUs, NGOs/POs, the community, women sector, concerned PENRO and CENRO, with support from the Regional Office and/or the EMB, whenever necessary, the academe, relevant government agencies, and other sectors that may be identified in the negotiations leading to the execution of the MOA.”

In fact, even Olongapo City, which will be hugely impacted by the coal plant was also not included on the MMT MOA. In any case, the SBFCC reiterates its request that we be included on the MMT.

3. Mitigate visual impact of the power plant to tourism

While the circulating fluidized bed combustion technology to be used in the Redondo plant is considered “clean-coal” technology; while it can easily pass the standards as mandated in the Philippine Clean Air Act; the sad reality is that many people will still picture in their minds the dirty power plants of the past upon mention of a coal-fired power plant. This by itself will already have an effect on tourism around the Subic Bay.

There are a good number of tourism-related companies inside and around the Subic Bay Freeport. It is, therefore, imperative that the visual impact of the power plant to tourism be minimized.

The SBFCC suggests that the infrastructure, or at least the smokestack, be made to blend with the environment. Further, it would be best if the smokestack will have metal framing, like the one in the TCC Kuan-Tien plant in Taiwan, that will primarily serve as preventive maintenance access but from afar will look similar to a cell site tower. These should soften up the usually perceived menacing shape of the smokestack.

We hope that the aforementioned recommendations, especially our request to be part of the MMT, be given due consideration by RP Energy and the DENR.