By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Outgoing Negros Occidental third district Rep. Alfredo Benitez said the province should look for an alternative source for its base power load necessities or “bite the bullet.” While speaking on the sidelines during last weekend’s inauguration rites, he offered an endorsement for geothermal power.
“Solar cannot be a source of base load power because it cannot generate power during night time,” he explained. “It is very hard to be dependent on renewable energy alone.”
Benitez said the issue of base power loan is a pressing matter and, if an alternative is not found, the province may have to resort to coal. He said, “It should be temporary and not a permanent solution.”
“Almost all countries [are] going in the direction of renewable energy to save the planet from climate change,” the outgoing congressman added. “If the province is thinking of using coal, other countries have signified that they will move to renewable energy but slowly and not overnight.”
Last month, former Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr. struck a similar cord, nothing, “If you look at Japan, they have already phased out coal plants and instead they changed it to biomass and other renewable types of energy.”
However, Japan is also home to 37 nuclear reactors with more still pending restarts, along with plans to construct new facilities in the future. In addition, according to a report in the Nikkei Asian Review last year, “Over 80 percent of Japan’s energy supply comes from fossil fuels.”
Benitez used Germany as an example, noting, over the next 20 years they will move 100 percent to renewable energy.
According to World Nuclear Association, Germany is also home to 17 nuclear reactors./DGB, WDJ