By Danessa Rivera (The
Philippine Star) | Updated July 5, 2016 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The mothballed
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) can be converted into the country’s main hub
for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, according to newly-appointed Energy
Secretary Alfonso Cusi.
The 30-year-old BNPP is being
maintained by government at an annual cost of P40 million, which would need a
review to determine if “it is still relevant” to do so, Cusi said in his first
media briefing yesterday.
He said nuclear energy as power
resource could be an option for the country’s power woes but not through the Bataan
nuclear facility. “If you’re asking if I’m open to nuclear, well, if it’s the
solution, why not but I’m not saying I will do it,” he said.
For the BNPP in particular, the DOE
chief said it could be converted into an LNG receiving and distribution hub but
it would need deeper study.
“One of the projects that we will be
undertaking is to put up an LNG receiving and distribution center… and that
could be in Bataan. It could be converted,” he said.
“But that requires more detailed
study and I believe initial discussions with the World Bank, International
Finance Corp., they are willing to fund the study in making that an LNG
terminal,” Cusi said.
The proposal to convert the BNPP
facility was a proposal made before in light of the depletion of the Malampaya
deepwater gas-to-power project by 2022 or 2024.
“We are looking at that [as the
country’s] energy city but it’s not my original idea. That has been discussed
before. Even Congressman (Reynaldo) Umali has been discussing that,” Cusi said.
“We are looking at Malampaya supply
being gone by 2022, 2024 and we would also like to attract more investors in
clean energy plants. That (conversion project) would help find a balance in
renewables, clean air and coal,” he said.
Putting up of a Batangas-Manila LNG
pipeline has been long-proposed to mitigate the impact of Malampaya’s
depletion. During President Benigno Aquino III’s term, the project was lined up
to be part of its flagship public-private partnership (PPP) program but was
pulled out towards the end of his administration due to offtaker concerns.
The DOE convened an inter-agency
working group in September 2015 to determine the possibility of drafting the
country’s nuclear power policy, as well as utilizing the BNPP, for the next
administration to decide on.
The working group is composed of
representatives from the DOE, National Power Corp. , Department of Science and
Technology and the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute.
The series of consultations came
after the House Committee on Energy ordered the DOE to take a look at the
nuclear power program. In 2008, efforts were made to draft a nuclear power
framework which was stalled after the Fukushima incident in Japan in 2011.
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