Why you should care about your energy source

Power is crucial to people's daily lives. We need it for almost everything we do. However, power generation is also one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions because coal is still the main fuel used to generate power in many countries, like the Philippines. Given this, it is clear that any road to decarbonization must start with cleaner power. 

Burning coal produces carbon dioxide which remains in the atmosphere, trapping heat and causing climate change. This is why carbon dioxide is called greenhouse gas. Too much carbon dioxide in the air leads to more frequent typhoons, severe droughts, and massive wildfires in the other parts of the world. This affects our food supply, damages our homes, and harms our health. 

However, people cannot just simply stop using electricity. That is why there is a need to shift to cleaner energy solutions that provide stable power while doing less harm to the environment.

Reliable and clean energy

There are many types of renewable energy sources such as hydro, biomass, geothermal, solar, and wind. These are safe and clean energy sources that come infinitely from the environment. Renewable energy sources are beneficial as they release little to no carbon emissions that harm our planet. Using renewable energy sources can even help reduce greenhouse gas intensity in the environment. This is why having these renewable energy sources is necessary.

Solar and wind are among the most popular renewable energy technologies. However, they are intermittent, as they are unable to provide power when there is not enough sunlight or wind. This is why the switch to 100% renewable energy cannot happen overnight. As of today, battery storage is still not sufficient to fully provide uninterrupted power on a large scale. 

Because of this, solar and wind require flexible and reliable supplementary sources of energy to quickly provide power when they are unavailable.

Natural gas supports intermittent renewables by quickly providing power when solar or wind are not able to. Natural gas power plants can provide power in as fast as 15 minutes, making it flexible enough to adjust to rapidly shifting power demands. 

Aside from this, natural gas is cleaner than coal. It emits up to 60% less carbon dioxide. Moreover, it does not leave behind ash, sludge, and other particulate matter that are harmful to our health and the environment. 

Because it is clean and flexible enough to support renewables, natural gas is crucial in supporting and encouraging the further development of solar, wind, and other renewables as we transition to a cleaner and greener future.

Providing stable electric supply with clean energy mix

First Gen Corporation (First Gen), the company that built most of the country's first and largest natural gas power plants in the Philippines, uses its plants to support the growth of renewable energy in the Philippines.

First Gen has four natural gas-fired power plants: the 1,000-MW Santa Rita, the 500-MW San Lorenzo, the 97-MW Avion, and the 420-MW San Gabriel power plants. It also owns and operates geothermal, hydro, wind, and solar energy facilities that complement these natural gas power plants.

First Gen commits to providing 100% Green Power, 100% Good Power without using harmful coal — ensuring clean and dependable power for existing consumers and the next generation of Filipinos. 
 
To know more about First Gen and its green initiatives, visit its website.

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