The Bulusan Geothermal Project – Friend Or Foe?

Two general questions: is geothermal exploration bad for people and the environment? Are geothermal plants contrary to the ideals of sustainable development?

The only way to fully know whether something is our friend or enemy, is to understand its nature.  That's why we need to exert efforts to understand, so that whatever fear or concerns we may have can be seen in the clear light, analyzed, and resolved.

To begin with, the name Bulusan Geothermal Project is a misnomer. The actual name of the proposed undertaking is Southern Bicol Geothermal Project.

There’s a big difference between the names.  It’s not just a matter of semantics. It’s more of how each name actually represents a different idea. Read on, it gets more interesting. :)

The proposed geothermal exploration project is currently being met with disagreement by certain parties – from townspeople, members of the clergy, government officials, non-government organizations (NGOs), and also some media people and journalists.

Some of the anti-geothermal sentiments may indeed be well-meaning. But to get a clearer perspective, it would be good to analyze the primary concerns regarding the geothermal exploration project in question.

I’ve reviewed numerous sites related to the project and come up with the following expressed sentiments, observations, and facts.

·      Sentiment: The Bulusan Geothermal project is a sham! It only serves the interests of a private company and will not benefit the people. It is another form of gross exploitation of local resources by foreign powers!

o   Fact: The correct name of the project is Southern Bicol Geothermal Project (SBGP) in the province of Sorsogon. The SBGP is a project of SKI, a Filipino-owned company. Should the project succeed, it will specifically serve the province of Sorsogon and the Bicol region, in general. It aims to provide cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient electricity for the people. And as geothermal energy is renewable and sustainable, the people’s dependence on fossil fuels would be diminished.

·       Sentiment: This geothermal plant would actually cause more environmental damage. The people don’t want an ugly building in the middle of a protected area. It would disrupt the ecosystem and the rich biodiversity. Drilling done by geothermal plants cause earthquakes. They also release excess heat. It would dry up the lakes and pollute neighboring waters. Livelihood would be disrupted!

o   Fact: Geothermal plants (all over the world) require only small pieces of land (404 square meters per GWh, like a moderate-sized house), compared to coil and oil plants (3,632 square meters per GWh, like a mall).

o   The proposed Southern Bicol Geothermal Project would not be an exception. 404 square meters would be tiny. More importantly, SBGP exploration activities are to be done outside of the Bulusan Volcano National Park. The Park is not to be harmed.

o   While geothermal plants do release excess heat, this heat is directed upwards, as is common practice. Surrounding flora and fauna would not be scalded by steam.

Bird's eyeview of a sample Philippine geothermal plant, with the environment in healthy condition.
Taken at the Southern Negros Geothermal Project - Okoy Plant

It is also worth knowing that the possibility of Lakes Bulusan and Aguingay drying up due to any activity by a geothermal plant is highly unlikely, as there is no correlation between the two. Geothermal plants do not dry up lakes.

The Southern Bicol Geothermal Project is still in its exploratory stages, so if the authorities find that conditions for a geothermal plant in Bulusan are short of ideal, then the Department of Energy can call off the project.

While it is true that there are instances that geothermal drilling aggravates seismic activities, this cannot yet be confirmed for the proposed project site until exploratory work is finished. Again, it is important to note that while nothing has proven, everything remains as conjecture or guesswork.

That is exactly the main purpose of geothermal exploration – to find out if conditions are amenable to the establishment of a geothermal power plant. If they’re not, then, no geothermal plant will be developed in the prospective site.

As for other concerns regarding the safety and health of the environment, when geothermal steam is wet, the water particles also carry trace amounts of mercury, boron, arsenic, and antimony – and it is true that these are toxic.

However, once heat is extracted, waste steam is pumped back to earth from where it came from. No industrial waste needs to be dumped out.

Gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane, and ammonia are also carried with the steam. The geothermal plant does not produce them.  These gases all occur naturally within the earth.

At this point, the fact that technology is such a blessing to modern life comes in. That’s because modern technology sees to it that geothermal plants come equipped with emission-control systems for these gases, as will be the case for the Southern Bicol Geothermal Project, should the project proceed.

Lastly, livelihood will not be disrupted. On the contrary, the proposed project could even provide jobs to Bulusuenos.

Agriculture within the vicinity of the proposed Southern Bicol Geothermal Project would not be disturbed.

Southern Negros Geothermal Project Reforestation (Okoy)

In fact, contrary to a geothermal plants being hostile to the environment, such geothermal facilities are known for tree-planting or reforestation activities, which are clearly not only friendly to the environment, but supportive of maintaining ecological balance, as well.

To be more specific about it, a geothermal plant is not an enemy. In fact, what is more hazardous is living right next to an active volcano, compared to unfounded fears related to a geothermal plant that is still being proposed.

Whatever the topic under discussion may be, it is always important to keep an objective perspective, as free from biases as possible, in order to fully understand.

It is hoped that the clarifications presented here can help assuage the effects of raw assumptions and misinformation that are being circulated regarding the proposed geothermal exploration.

Whether the geothermal exploration would prove to be a success or not, would be too early to tell for now. But in the end, each and everyone should maintain a critical frame of mind that is geared towards deciding for the benefit of the majority.