Subic power station

The Subic power station is a proposed $1.1 billion, 600-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station by Redondo Peninsula Energy for the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, in the Philippine province of Zambales.

Location
The map below shows the location of the Subic Town, Zababales Province, where the plant would be constructed.

Background on Plant
The proponent of the Subic power station is AboitizPower, which is undertaking the project with power distributor Manila Electric Co. and Taiwan Cogeneration through a vehicle firm called Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (RP Energy).

Public opposition
In July 2011, AboitizPower, Manila Electric Co., and Taiwan Cogeneration signed a memorandum of agreement to build a 600 MW, $1.28 billion coal plant in Subic Town, on the Redondo Peninsula in Subic Bay, in the province of Zambales. The plant would be built by the joint venture Redondo Peninsula Energy (RPE). At the signing ceremony, Alex Hermoso of the Olongapo-Zambales Civil Society Network gave protest letters and an anti-plant resolution of the Olangapo City Council to the company representatives, signaling public opposition and protest against the plant.

While the plant's backers, AboitizPower and the Philippine Department of Energy, argue that the plant is necessary to supply power for growing local demand and ward off a "looming energy crisis," the Panalipdan-Southern Mindanao Network Opposed to Coal-Fired Power Plant argues that no such crisis exists, and that the plant's actual goal is to provide power for proposed mining operations of Xstrata and Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI-Xstrata) in Davao.

On Aug. 29, 2011, 3,000 local residents of Olongapo City (the largest city on Subic Bay) and of the province of Zambales participated in a protest against the proposed plant, organized by the Olongapo-Zambales Civil Society Network and the Sigaw ng Lumalabang Olongapeño (Siglo). Among the protesters were Olongapo Mayor James Gordon Jr. and members of the Olongapo City Council, Zambales First District Rep. Mitos Magsaysay, and Zambales Vice Governor Ramon Lacbain. Numerous communities from Subic Bay read resolutions opposing the plant, and pointed out that these local communities had not approved construction of the plant as required under Philippine environmental regulations. In Dec. 2011, when the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority held a "social acceptability forum" about the plant, RPE representatives, acting on advice from company lawyers, cancelled at the last minute. During the following year, government officials from both Olongapo City and Zambales Province issued repeated resolutions opposing construction of the plant — largely on the grounds that it would impact tourism, which is vital for the local economy.

In Nov. 2011, an official with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority confirmed that KEPCO Philippines Corp. had applied to build an additional coal plant in Subic Bay.

In June 2012, following an appeal by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority to relocate the plant, Philippine Energy Secretary Jose Almendras refused, arguing that relocating the plant would push back the completion date and thus "jeopardize the power situation in Luzon." This also followed a special report by the Manila Times, which found that "virtually every segment of the Subic, Olongapo City and Zambales province population — as well as the public officials and city, town and provincial councils — had registered, in writing and in marches and demonstrations, in city and provincial council resolutions, their strong opposition to the Aboitiz-Meralco-Taiwan RP Energy project."

In Oct. 2012, when RPE held a scheduled public consultation as required by the permitting process, company representatives were not able to present a single slide of their presentation before angry residents barraged them with questions, forcing the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to reschedule the presentation.

In Dec. 2012, the Philippine Department of Environment & Natural Resources' Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) issued an amended Environmental Compliance Certificate to the project, despite ongoing public opposition. Many public leaders were highly critical of this move, with Zambales Vice Gov. Ramon Lacbain stating, "I wonder how the [EMB] issued the ECC despite the very strong opposition of local governments and civil society organizations to the establishment of this coal-fired plant within Subic Bay." Jen Velarmino, a spokesperson for the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber for Health and Environment Conservation, criticized the EMB for its provision for providing annual reports to the public on the plant's operations, stating that public input "should have been done first, and the basis of the ECC should have been the concurrence of stakeholders with this project."

In May 2013, the regional Court of Appeals of the Philippines — while also rejecting aspects of opponents' legal claims against the project — invalidated the Environmental Compliance Certificate issued by the EMB "due to various defects and non-compliance with legal procedures/requirements concerned," and ordered a halt to the construction of the plant. Opponents applauded the decision, and called on the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority to "uphold and honor the results of the Social Acceptability Process which they themselves initiated" by increasing transparency regarding the permitting and construction process.

Project Details

 * Sponsor: Redondo Peninsula Energy
 * Location: Subic Town, Zambales, Philippines
 * Coordinates: 14.8833, 120.227667 (approximate)
 * Status: Permitted
 * Gross Capacity: 600 MW
 * Type: Circulating Fluidized Bed
 * Projected in service: Unit 1: 2017; Unit 2: 2018
 * Coal Type:
 * Coal Source:
 * Source of financing:

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Philippines and coal

External resources

 * "Meralco Group Structure," accessed December 2013