Powerplants: what kind of power supply agenda should the Philippines have?

**ghosthunter** · March 26th, 2011 12:01 PM

[SIZE="4"]Powerplants: what kind of power supply agenda should the Philippines have?[/SIZE]

Example:

should we go nuclear? Benefits, cheap power with the "least" greenhouse emissions. Downside, safety & spent fuel disposal still an issue.

should we go green? Benefits, low or no emissions, renewable. Downside, generally expensive unless taken in an extreme long term commitment, low power outputs for the money spent, can be unstable in output (ex: wind, solar, hydro).

should we go convensional? Benefits, technology to use cheap fossil fuels like coal cleaner than older systems. Downside, still have greenhouse emissions and uses limited fossil fuels.

**ghosthunter** · March 26th, 2011 12:10 PM

Personally, we should have the nuclear powerplant option open to us to have in the future. Time will come when we might have no choice if we want affordable electrical power for our homes, offices and industries.

But for the "right now", I would still vote for the conventional fossil fueled powerplants. Why? Cheap power is in demand. "Green" solutions are great IF you can afford to pay for the expensive installations & long term maintenance for them. The Philippines is not rich enough to afford "green" power on a wide scale. Let the 1st world countries prove that it can be affordable for developing countries to implement beyond a few NGO funded pilot projects.

Don't get me wrong, I like "green" solutions especially as a creative solution as an engineering & design point of view. But I am still concerned about the cost vs benefit balance if implemented beyond the small scale. (Small scale being those projects powering small isolated villages, etc)

**oj88** · March 26th, 2011 12:55 PM

I'm all for nuclear power. I read that ever since the Fukushima incident, stock prices are falling for companies that build or operate nuclear power plants. Even the price of uranium fuels have gone down.

Not meaning to be insensitive, but now is probably the best time to buy one.

Anybody got a spare $8 billion?

**uls** · March 26th, 2011 01:01 PM

we need more natural gas power plants

natural gas is cheaper, cleaner burning than other fossil fuels

**tidus1203** · March 26th, 2011 01:09 PM

Nuclear WILL NOT GO AWAY especially in first world countries... Its cheap to operate and provides a lot of power and at the same time its clean... Kailangan strategic lang ang placing ng nuclear plants...

**istan** · March 26th, 2011 01:33 PM

I agree, Nuclear is cheaper to operate. Go nukes!
Nuclear waste can be recycled to be reused. Wastes are also solids that can be buried underground.
Zero air pollutants, better for us.

We have high electricity rates because of the fuel we use. Coal, Oil, Diesel. Considering fuel prices now...ugh!

Renewable energies like Hydroelectric, doesn't work on droughts (ie Mindanao, no electricity on summer), Solar (needs large tracks of land, small capacity), Wind (same as solar). I agree...renewables can be used small scale.

For bang for the buck. Nuclear.

**Stoner** · March 26th, 2011 05:50 PM

Part of the reason why solar panels are so unfeasible is because of the added cost and inconvenience of needing batteries to store the power.

Maybe it's high time we establish net metering?

It could potentially reduce energy costs, increase supply, and even spur local business growth.

The Renewable Energy Act has clauses mentioning such implementations, but till now, I don't think any action has been taken.

Perhaps someone could enlighten me on the complications such a scheme could entail?

**raycon_24** · March 26th, 2011 07:31 PM

kasama tayo sa pacific ring of fire, marami tayong active volcano so why not geothermal power? dapat nag ffocus ang government natin sa geothermal power plant........ walang green house emission and i guess much cheaper

**istan** · March 26th, 2011 07:48 PM

Problem with that, if volcano erupts...bye bye power plant.

**oj88** · March 26th, 2011 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by raycon_24

kasama tayo sa pacific ring of fire, marami tayong active volcano so why not geothermal power? dapat nag ffocus ang government natin sa geothermal power plant........ walang green house emission and i guess much cheaper

We're already doing this. Chevron does, they have wells in Makban and Tiwi. Geothermal is not as long term as nuclear. Like oil, the wells runs out of steam eventually and they have to look for new ones. The expedition and the actual drilling costs too much and it gets harder and harder everytime. (ie. Wells gets deeper and there's also the question of social impact due to land usage rights and such)