By Jonathan L. Mayuga - March 5, 2020
INSTEAD of going for clean,
renewable-energy sources, the government through a proposal by the Department
of Energy (DOE), may soon expose the people to the inherent and the serious
dangers of “nuclear power,” Greenpeace Southeast Asia has warned.
Greenpeace was reacting to
Malacañang’s announcement that the DOE, led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi,
has submitted a proposed Executive Order to include nuclear power in the
country’s energy mix.
Instead of exposing Filipinos to
such unnecessary risk, Greenpeace said the DOE should heed Duterte’s order and
fast-track the development of renewable-energy sources in phasing out “dirty”
coal in the country’s current energy mix.
“Greenpeace condemns this latest
move by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi to include nuclear power in the
Philippine energy mix. This is an underhanded maneuver that blatantly
disregards any attempt at consultation even while proposing to expose the
Filipino people to the inherent and serious dangers of nuclear power,”
Greenpeace Philippines Campaigner Khevin Yu said in a statement.
According to Yu, nuclear power
is the most dangerous source of electricity, and throughout their lifecycle,
nuclear plants contribute significantly to climate change.
In fact, he said, in other parts of
the world, nuclear facilities are being decommissioned and phased out from
energy plans. There is also broad recognition that nuclear is the most
expensive option for power generation—capital costs are astronomical and
construction delays last as much as 17 years. Moreover, the industry still has
no solution to the safe and permanent storage of radioactive spent fuel, he
said.
According to Greenpeace, Germany has
in fact started decommissioning its nuclear plants while Switzerland has banned
the construction of new nuclear plants. On the other hand, Spain plans to
close all their existing plants. In France, one plant began construction
in 2007, but because of delays and safety precautions that usually hound all
nuclear power construction, it is not expected to be finished until 2024,
Greenpeace said.
According to Greenpeace, which
advocates the development of clean, renewable energy such as solar, hydro and
wind power, the nuclear industry still hasn’t solved the problem of storage of
highly radioactive spent fuel and water.
“Clearly, there is no compelling nor
rational explanation of why the DOE should recommend the uptake of nuclear
energy in the Philippines. Nuclear power will bring more problems and debt to
the Filipino people. The DOE’s proposed EO is anti-Filipino: magdudulot
ito ng malaking pahirap at parusa para sa mga Pilipino [It will bring a lot
of misery to Filipinos],” he said.
Yu reminded the DOE chief of
directive, in his State-of-the-Nation address, to promote renewable energy.
“The DOE must focus on ensuring the
country is on the path to a massive uptake of renewable energy as the best
solution to energy security and the climate crisis. RE is the most abundant
source of power, the safest, the cheapest and the least carbon-intensive. The
country’s untapped renewable-energy potential is vast and capable of supplying
energy 24/7: studies peg wind potential at 76,600 MW, and ocean tidal and wave
energy potential at 170,000 MW. The DOE also recognizes the country’s immense
solar potential which can offer a power generating capacity of 4.5-5.5 kWh per
square meter per day. Just harnessing renewables alone can supply the projected
additional demand of 43,765 megawatts by 2040 identified by the DOE.
“At a time when RE technology is
clearly on the rise, peddling nuclear power is plain irresponsible and
irrational. We are calling on President Duterte to put a stop to the DOE’s
nuclear madness and direct the agency to truly focus on promoting RE, not only
because it is the rational thing to do, but also [because] it is the best
decision that he can do for current and future generations of Filipinos,” he
concluded.
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