A new memorandum now re

quires coal-fired powered power plant developers to secure clearances from the Climate Change Commission (CCC) and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda.

Previous heads at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently passed the memorandum that requires the two offices to have their environmental compliance certificates (ECCs

) cleared.

Power developer Quezon Power Philippines Ltd. (QPPL) managing director Frank Thiel said the memorandum will be a new addition to the already 156 permits needed to be secured for coal plants.

GN Power COO Ariel Punzalan also said it will make it harder for developers.

“In fact, for a new coal plant, we need at least 100 permits before you can start. It was streamlined through the years but adding that to the equation will make it more difficult,” he said.

Meanwhile, Aboitiz Power Corp. president and COO Antonio Moraza asked whether or not the Duterte administration will regularize this process as this was passed during the previous administration.

The country sources 39 percent of its power supply from coal plants, an

d will see an additional 47 new plants by 2020. More than half of these will be coal-based, according to data from the Department of Energy (DOE

).