Environment advocate Power for People Coalition (P4P) has urged Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen) to consider cancelling its planned coal-fired power project in Atimonan, Quezon.
The group issued the statement after the company confirmed its Redondo Peninsula (RP) Energy project in Subic will no longer be pursued as coal-fired power project but will be converted to a natural-gas fired power plant instead.
“…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,” said Gerry Arances, P4P convenor.
Arances said the group is optimistic this will push MGen to reconsider its proposed 1,200 megawatts coal plant in Quezon under its subsidiary Atimonan One Energy (A1E).
Arances said a major lender for the project has dropped out, confirming only that coal is now “simply unprofitable.”
“With this and on top of the deadly, dirty and costly impacts of coal to people and the environment, there’s no reason why an announcement of A1E’s cancellation shouldn’t be just around the corner as well,” he added. – Jed Macapagal
