Resolving PHL’s nuclear-power quandary

By Lenie Lectura  November 25, 2017

https://businessmirror.com.ph/resolving-phls-nuclear-power-quandary/

Nuclear experts based in Russia have concluded their preliminary assessment on the possibility and viability of rehabilitating the 620-megawatt (MW) Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), the first nuclear power plant built in Southeast Asia more than three decades ago that never went into operation.

Results of the study conducted by the Russian Federation State Atomic Energy Corp. (Rosatom), however, have yet to be turned over to Philippine authorities.

According to Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, Rosatom’s initial review on the power facility would be presented next month to the Nuclear Energy Program Implementing Organization (Nepio), a unit created by the agency.

“The initial pre-feasibility study of Rosatom will be presented in the first week of December to Nepio. The recommendation is a result from the study of the six technical working groups,” Cusi told the BusinessMirror in a text message.

The six groups were assigned to come up with structural stability analysis; functionality analysis; documentation, safety and licenseability analysis;  result analysis; report preparation; and owner’s support assistance.

“The result will be one of the significant bases in coming up with an objective recommendation for the national leaders to come up with a national position. At the same time, this will help to come up with a specific decision  on the best use of the existing structure and facilities of BNPP,” Cusi added.

The Department of Energy (DOE) will announce the result of Rosatom’s initial findings after the pre-feasibility study is turned over.

In August Nepio, along with representatives from the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) and National Power Corp. (NPC), met with representatives from Russia’s Rosatom, Slovenia’s Gen Enerjia and internationally known nuclear firm Worley Parsons at the NPC Nuclear Village in Bagac, Bataan.

MOC

The study is being provided by Rosatom for free as part of the cooperation between the Philippines and Russia.

The DOE and Rosatom signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) during the 12th East Asia Summit recently held in Manila.

“The cooperation with Russia is part of the government’s intention to develop a variety of applications of nuclear energy that are within our policies, particularly for power generation,” Cusi said.

The cooperation will be implemented in the form of joint working groups that will undertake specific projects and tasks; exchange of experts; workshops; training and education of personnel; and sharing of technical information.

The pact will run for five years and is renewable for the same period, unless one notifies the other in writing through diplomatic channels of its intention to suspend or terminate the same.

Cusi said the undertakings in the MOC would support the Philippines in coming up with a national position and the crafting of a nuclear-energy policy that may lead to a nuclear-energy program.

‘No place for BNPP’

A lawmaker expressed concern about the possibility of reviving the BNPP, saying the mothballed power facility has “no place in the future of Philippine nuclear energy.”

“The partnership forged between the DOE and Rosatom  signifies the start of a new chapter for the prospects of nuclear energy in the Philippines. I welcome this opportunity for our country’s energy experts to gain more knowledge and craft strong regulatory frameworks, as we seek to build a comprehensive national nuclear-energy policy,” commented Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.

But the senator, who is also the chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, is worried.

“I remain cautious about the proposal to revive the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. The controversial 40-year-old plant is a remnant of the failed nuclear-energy policies of the past. It has no place in the future of Philippine nuclear energy,” Gatchalian said.

The BNPP is the country’s first and only attempt at nuclear-power development. It was supposed to be the first of two nuclear plants to be built in the northern province of Bataan. It was also the first nuclear power plant in Southeast Asia, and was identified as a solution to the 1973 oil crisis that had adversely affected the global economy, including the Philippines’.

The $2.3-billion project, however, was mothballed in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. But clamor for the reopening of the BNPP was revived during the power crisis in the 1990s and the skyrocketing oil prices in 2007.

During these periods, the DOE actually came close to reconsidering nuclear power as a potential energy source for the country.

But then the Fukushima nuclear-plant incident happened in 2011, creating global panic and concerns about the safety and integrity of nuclear plants.

‘Yes to BNPP’

The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) is urging the government to support nuclear energy use.

“The promotion of nuclear energy is an important decision. We cannot go all out into manufacturing because of high power costs, and the cheapest cost and has no emission is through nuclear,” PNRI Director Carlo Arcilla had said.

“I don’t want to promote nuclear energy on my own because part of the job is regulation…I will just wait for directives, but we have to understand that a small amount of nuclear fuel is equal to several tons of coal, and the plant will just be powered once every one-and-a-half years,” he added.

Arcilla said an independent regulatory nuclear agency and an effective management of nuclear waste must be formed should there be firm plans to pursue nuclear use.

Former Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco had said that the country’s demand for electricity is expected to grow and can be addressed once the BNPP is opened.

“There is a need to revive the dormant Bataan Nuclear Power Plant,” he said, adding that BNPP is a source of alternative energy and is a technology from natural reactors reported to be safe, clean and a cheap source compared to other renewable-energy source used by the US and Switzerland.

He cited that the country’s demand for electricity is expected to grow at an average of 5 percent per year until 2030, or around 126 tera-watt hours (TWh) from the 2015 level of 82 TWh.

What to do with BNPP

If revival and rehabilitation are no longer options for the BNPP complex, then the next step that needs to be undertaken would be to determine what to do with the property.

“As the authority, we have to put a closure to it. Are we going to proceed and make it a nuclear power plant? If we are not going to operate it as a nuclear power plant, then what are we going to do with the structure? What are we going to do with the property?” Cusi said.

If the BNPP will not be operated, the DOE will also have to find other options on the facility’s use. “If we can’t use it anymore, then what are the options? Can it be transformed into a bomb shelter? Library? Hotel? Data center? If we are not going to operate it as a nuclear power plant, then what are we going to do with the structure? What are we going to do with the property?” Cusi asked.

Should there be a green light to proceed with the BNPP rehabilitation, Cusi said this would definitely entail replacement of existing machineries, which translates to more expenses.

Social acceptance

It will also have to hurdle through opposition on the use of nuclear power in the country.

“What we want is acceptance of the community, as long as there is a community, province, willing to host it,” Cusi said. “We are going in to the process of resolving all the concerns that are being raised against it,” he added.

The energy chief earlier identified Sulu province as a possible site for a modular nuclear power plant.

Since it’s modular, it can have a capacity of 100 MW, at most.

Industry stakeholders also said social acceptance remains the biggest challenge.

Federico Lopez, chairman of First Gen Corp., had said that “it pays to study the plan first before any final decision is made.”

“At the end of the day, the safety issues are what’s important, especially because we are located in the Pacific Ring of Fire. If we do address the safety issues, then that’s a good thing,” he said.

For the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the company’s president awaits a more detailed plan from the government.

“We have to look at the entire package. We will see how this plan of the government progresses. In the end, what is important is that it delivers competitive, safe, reliable power,” said Meralco President Oscar Reyes.

AC Energy President John Eric Francia said social acceptance is a major concern. “Apart from anything else, government must work on this. It is really important for the public to understand this,” he said.

Whatever the government decides, it has to hurry because it continues to spend P50 million annually to maintain the dormant plant, while never producing anything.