Philippines urged to consider nuclear energy as future option

By Danessa O. Rivera (The Philippine Star) | Updated July 13, 2015 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - As the country faces power supply issues and high electricity costs, is the Philippines open to nuclear energy?

The Philippines could still consider nuclear energy as a possible future option, the International Energy Agency said in its recent report, “Technology Roadmap: Nuclear Energy.”

IEA is an autonomous organization based in Paris, which works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy.

The Philippines, along with Vietnam and Thailand, are the countries in Southeast Asia that import majority of their energy needs.

“Nuclear would help to improve energy security and reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels,” IEA said in the report.

Unlike the Philippines, which remains lukewarm to reopening the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), other Southeast Asian countries are welcoming the use of nuclear energy.

“Strong expected electricity demand growth and stable electricity production costs are the main drivers for nuclear development in the region,” IEA said.

Last year, former Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco renewed his call to revive the over 30-year- old BNPP which is capable of producing 620 megawatts (MW) of power.

The Philippines built the nuclear plant in the 1980s, but the plant was mothballed due to safety concerns and reports deposed President Ferdinand Marcos received about $80 million in kickbacks from builder Westinghouse.

Safety of the nuclear power plant was also raised after the unfortunate Fukushima incident in Japan, as BNPP is located near an earthquake fault.

The IEA report showed Vietnam is the most advanced in the nuclear energy space, with committed plans for developing nuclear.

“Vietnam is planning at least 8 GW (gigawatts) of nuclear capacity by the end of the 2020s and hopes to have a first unit in operation by 2023,” the report read.

Vietnam is also in the process of developing its legal and regulatory infrastructure.

IEA also pointed out Bangladesh also plans to start the construction of its first reactor by 2015.

Meanwhile, Thailand and Indonesia have well-developed plans “but have yet to make a firm commitment,” while Malaysia is currently studying the feasibility of developing a nuclear power plant, it added. source