Debt watchdog Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) sought the intervention of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on the proposed construction and operation of a 200-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant intended to provide additional power load in the Visayas.

The Visayas Base Load Power Project, a joint venture of Kepco Philippines Holdings and Salcon Power Corporation, comes at a time when there is a positive move towards tapping renewable energy in the country, FDC said.

The group also cited that the Asian Development Bank has recently adopted the 2009 Energy Policy that will “help Asian and Pacific countries secure adequate energy supplies while cutting levels of greenhouse gas emissions.”

FDC, joined by environmental lawyers in Cebu, expressed their opposition to the impending approval by on the Kepco Salcon Power Corp. (KSPC) loan of $120 million for the construction of its 200-MW coal-fired power plant in Naga, Cebu.

FDC-Cebu chapter secretary-general Lito Vasquez called on the ADB to reject the Kepco Salcon Power Corp. loan and urged the DENR to intervene and ensure the environmental protection of Cebuanos.

He also called on the Department of Energy (DoE) to “move away from its bias on coal and seriously implement the country's renewable energy law.”

“The power industry is a major contributor to climate change with power plants utilizing fossil fuels such as coal contributing the highest amount of carbon emissions to the atmosphere,” Vasquez said.