Uncovering Philippines'
coal experience
2. A Visual Explainer of Coal Consumption
and use in the Philippines
The Philippines, most often than not, consumes more coal than it can produce. Because of this, it resorts to imported coal, which, at times, is cheaper than domestic coal, to meet demand. Imported coal is typically mixed with locally produced, low-rank sub-bituminous coal.
Let’s take a look at coal in the Philippines and trace how it’s been used.
How much coal is produced and consumed
In the 19th and 20th centuries, coal was mainly supplied from, first, the ports of Cardiff and Newcastle in the United Kingdom and Sydney in Australia, and later from Australia and Japan. Old government reports state that the country paid a high price for imported coal that was “in many cases exceedingly poor.”
In recent years, beginning in the 1990s, coal has come mainly from Indonesia and some from Vietnam and Australia, among others. Over time, domestic coal production has grown. In 2007, the country began to export its coal, and China has been its top export market since. Other recipients of its coal include India and Thailand.
What are the uses of coal
Transportation
In the early 1900s under the American occupation, coal was used to power engines for steamboats and railways for the increasing inter-island trading and by the army and navy of the United States for their transport service.
Power Generation
Power generation is the primary use for coal in the Philippines. About 90% of all coal consumption in 2021, up from 45% in 1990, was in the electric power sector.
Lighting and Cooking
In the 2000s, the government promoted the use of coal briquettes as a substitute for firewood as a response to increasing deforestation. At the time, the intensive use of wood-based fuels was found to be causing deforestation, which, in turn, caused flood disasters.
Cement Production
Coal is a key energy source in cement production. By-products of coal combustion, such as fly ash, play an important role in cement manufacture. About a third of coal consumption in the 1990s was used in cement factories, but this has decreased to less than 10% in recent years while consumption of the electric sector has swelled.
Metal Production
Metallurgical coal, or coal converted to coke, is an ingredient in steelmaking. Coal is also widely used in the production of other metals including aluminum and copper.
The Philippines used to be a relatively small user of coal. Coal accounted for a minimal amount of total energy use from the early 20th century to the 1970s. Annual coal consumption averaged less than 500,000 metric tons in the 1920s and less than 100,000 metric tons after the Second World War and before the oil crisis of the 1970s.
In the 1970s, when the global oil crisis triggered governments worldwide to be concerned about their national energy plans and policies, the Philippine government required electric utilities and other industries with voracious energy demand to switch from oil to coal.
Coal consumption soared, as planned, and reached millions of tons. The electricity sector is now the largest user of coal.
Role of Coal in the Energy Mix
Sources: Department of Energy: Key Energy Statistics 1990-2018, 2019-2021. Notes: The earliest data available is 1990. Primary energy supply refers to energy production plus energy imports, minus energy exports. Other sources of energy include oil and natural gas, which are fossil fuels like coal, and hydro, geothermal, wind, solar, and biomass, which are renewable. Energy for power application and non-energy use is not included in the total final energy consumption.
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