Going nuclear

SHOULD the Philippines adopt nuclear power as one more option for the country’s energy requirements?

No less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. raised the possibility during his State of the Nation Address last July when he said now was the right time to reexamine the country’s approach and policy toward using nuclear energy, noting that with modern technology, safeguards have been placed against possible accidents.

In September, during his official visit to the US, Marcos had also met with executives of NuScale Power, an American energy company offering advanced nuclear technology such as small modular reactors (SMRs).

In fact, the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) is looking into possible nuclear deals with South Korea, France, and China.

PNRI Director Carlo Arcilla recently said there was a “revival” on the use of nuclear power plants because the whole world was concerned with carbon dioxide reduction.

The nuclear power plant has no emission, so it is important in the climate change moves of various countries.

During her recent visit to the Philippines, US Vice President Kamala Harris said Manila and Washington were in negotiations on possible nuclear energy cooperation, citing the need for the so-called 123 Agreement to provide the legal basis for the United States to export nuclear equipment and materials to the country.

Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act requires the conclusion of a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement before any transfer of nuclear material or equipment from the United States to another country.

For the Philippines to enter into a 123 Agreement with the United States, it must adhere to a set of stringent nuclear nonproliferation requirements.

As of November 2, 2022, the United States had 24 such agreements in force with such countries as China and Russia.

Other countries, such as South Korea, France and China, are also interested in concluding nuclear deals with the Philippines.

South Korea had earlier offered to rehabilitate the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) for $1 billion.

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corp., conducted a prefeasibility study on the rehabilitation of the BNPP in 2017 upon the request of the Department of Energy (DOE).

This updated an earlier pre-feasibility study in 2008 which the Korean company conducted together with stateowned National Power Corp.

The $2.3-billion 620-megawatt BNPP, built by Westinghouse Electric of the United States in the mid-1970s during the Marcos Sr. administration, was mothballed due to corruption allegations and safety concerns.

Arcilla allayed public fears on the possible revival of the BNPP, saying South Korea had the exact model of the power plant that had been operating for 40 years now.

“They have an offer for us to revive the plant, they say they can operate our plant within five years. That is the fastest way to have nuclear power in the country even if it is only 620 megawatts,” he said.

Electricity cost in South Korea is actually only half that of the Philippines.

As for France, it has extensive experience in nuclear power production.

About 67 percent of its power production comes from nuclear energy.

The European nation, which has 56 nuclear power plants, is Europe’s biggest net exporter of electricity.

Some lawmakers are open to the idea of acquiring nuclear power.

Senator JV Ejercito believes that “we really need to reconsider nuclear power. We need to bring down cost of energy for our economy to be able to fully develop and at same time address the issue of climate change and global warming, which will be both addressed by shift [to] nuclear power.”

But Senator Risa Hontiveros believes otherwise.

“Insisting on nuclear energy use in the Philippines will be taking a step backwards into the past, and not into a sustainable and peaceful future,” she said.

“Nuclear energy entails the generation of radioactive waste, which will pose a long-term and difficult problem for Filipinos. Even now, advocates of nuclear energy cannot fully answer the question of how and where we will safely store radioactive waste whose half-lives will outlive us, our children and our grandchildren,” she explained.

The opposition senator said there was no guarantee the country would dodge nuclear accidents, should it push through with nuclear energy.

Instead, Hontiveros said the government should focus on alternative and renewable energy sources as these have potential to take up a bigger share of our energy mix without the health, economic and environmental dangers posed by nuclear energy.

Sen. Joel Villanueva says he has reservations on the proposed nuclear energy use due to its harmful effects.

“Although I am open to these discussions, I have reservations about this proposal. We are all aware that nuclear power plants contain radioactive material that is extremely harmful to humans and the environment,” he said.

A thorough evaluation of potential sites for the power plant and waste storage, he emphasized, must be conducted.

Villanueva said he was more inclined to adopting small modular reactors (SMRs) as these could prove to be an affordable option and manageable in size and scale for the country.

In fact, SMRs could be a good alternative source of power in off-grid areas, according to the Department of Energy, as they can be built in a factory and then transported to a site for installation.

Other countries, such as South Korea, France and China, are also interested in concluding nuclear deals with the Philippines