Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. yesterday said while he would prefer that hydro electric power plants are put up in Negros Occidental, he remains open to coal fired power plants.

If it will take some time to put up hydro plants, that is why he is open to coal plants that will be faster and cheaper to install, the governor said.

He said the investors planning to build a biomass power plant in Sagay City, meanwhile, are determining if they will have sufficient raw materials to operate.

The biomass plant will be fueled by agricultural waste.

Meanwhile, he said close watch will continue on the Energy Development Corp. movements in the Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park buffer zone.

The EDC that shut down its geothermal power plant in Mailum, Bago last year for further study said it is not remote for it to drill two to three more wells in the buffer zone to generate more power.

The governor said that, in fairness to EDC, it has been complying with its commitment to reforest the area where it is located and to assist communities in there.*CPG

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