Don’t go nuclear over nuclear

trophe only seem to reinforce this perception. The reality, however, is that a nuclear plant is not only safe but also economical, sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Consider this: Nuclear plants have been generating electricity since 1951. The world’s oldest running nuclear power plant in Beznau, Northern Switzerland has been producing 730 MW

plants that form 35 percent of Switzerland’s energy mix.

The world’s largest economy, the US, is also the world’s largest producer of nuclear power, accounting for more than 30 percent of worldwide nuclear generation of electricity. America has 98 operating nuclear power reactors in 30 states, operated by 30 different power companies.

Since 2001, these nuclear plants have achieved an average capacity factor of over 90 percent, generating up to 807 terawatt hours (TWh) per year and accounting for about 20 percent of the total electricity generated. And with its Clean Air Act requiring a reduction in carbon emissions from US power plants of 25 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, and more by 2030, more states are now turning to nuclear power generation.

France, another European economic powerhouse, derives about 75 percent of its electricity from its 58 nuclear reactors. It produces so much electricity that it is the world’s largest net exporter due to its very low cost of generation, and gains over 3-billion euros in revenue per year from this. Realizing that it has few known indigenous energy resources, France sought to achieve greater energy security by expanding the country’s nuclear power capacity.

France now boasts a substantial level of energy independence and almost the lowest electricity cost in Europe. It also has an extremely low level of carbon dioxide emissions per capita from electricity generation since over 90 percent of its electricity is nuclear or hydro.

Despite the hundreds of nuclear reactors around the world, serious nuclear accidents have been rare. The three highly publicized accidents are the only major incidents in the history of civil nuclear power. This means the 17,000 cumulative nuclear-reactor years of commercial nuclear power in 33 countries have been relatively safe and worry-free.

The developers of modern nuclear reactors are learning from these mishaps. In the cases of Chernobyl and Fukushima, while human error and natural disaster played a role, the failures were caused because the plants could not keep the nuclear reactors cold enough. Modern systems seek to address these problems by installing duplicate emergency cooling systems. Other models involve passive cooling in the case of a loss of power — taking its cue from the events at Fukushima.

In addition, newer, “Gen IV” designs offer fully passive cooling systems and ways to more efficiently use nuclear fuel. As technology advances, nuclear reactors, machines and equipment are just going to get safer and more

While the Philippines vacillates on its nuclear power policy, other Asian countries are ramping up their commercial nuclear power capacity. China, India, Japan and South Korea have constructed more than 20 operating power reactors each, in order to meet their clean energy goals and growing domestic electricity consumption.

We, on the other hand, have a mothballed nuclear plant costing $2.3 billion that’s been turned into a tourist spot. Maintaining this nuclear plant-cum-tourist spot is costing Filipino taxpayers another P40 million per year.

If we are to meet the country’s increasing power demand and establish energy security, we should not keep nuclear energy off the table. Not that we are ready. We, however, ought to start developing the infrastructure for nuclear power, including laying down the standards, safety and security protocols for nuclear plants, emergency response and preparedness, waste management, radiation protection, and other governmental frameworks.

The recent nuclear cooperation agreement with Russia can be a

- try’s pressing need for development as well as energy security that

in fuel prices and the instability of political relationships with large oil and natural gas producers.