MVP: Nuke use closer, Meralco holds study
Hopefully by the middle of the year (2024), we will have the feasibility study. We will share it with everybody
Daily TribuneHopefully by the middle of the year (2024), we will have the feasibility study. We will share it with everybody
The Manila Electric Co., or Meralco, the country's largest power distributor, has scheduled the release of a feasibility study on developing nuclear energy as a viable local power source by the middle of next year.
In an interview with reporters on Monday, Meralco chairman and chief executive officer Manuel V. Pangilinan said the study is spearheaded by its American partner Ultra Safe Nuclear Power Corp.
Before the six-month actual feasibility study takes place, Pangilinan explained that Meralco and Ultra Safe will first conduct a pre-feasibility study that would take three months to complete.
"Hopefully by the middle of the year (2024), we will have the feasibility study. We will share it with everybody. We will discuss now when we will start the pre-feasibility study," Pangilinan told reporters.
"We should engage Ultrasafe to at least conduct a pre-feasibility study, which will then lead to a full-blown feasibility study which we would like to share with the government and the participants of the industry itself. We will all be educated together as a community."
3 criteria
In his speech during the opening day of the three-day Giga Summit organized by Meralco Power Academy, Pangilinan reiterated the company's willingness to seriously study how it can integrate nuclear power into its energy mix.
"There will likely be three major considerations for the government and the private sector in assessing whether nuclear power is fit for the Philippines. First is the safety of nuclear plants. Number two and this is I think dear to the heart of Secretary Lotilla is the cost of power generated by nuclear plants," Pangilinan said.
"The third is the aspect of energy security and dependence of the country, which is very important," he added.
5 years wait at least
Pangilinan earlier said that since nuclear energy requires a new technology, it would be "at least five years away from commercial production."
As part of Meralco's drive to upskill professionals, Pangilinan launched the Filipino Scholars and Interns on Nuclear Engineering or FISSION program.
He said the company will invest in local talents and support aspiring Filipino nuclear engineers to help accelerate the development of the country's technical and regulatory talent pipeline through education and training in the highly specialized field of nuclear engineering.
"Meralco will send some of our engineers to a two-year graduate program targeting local talents who are graduates and practicing Mechanical, Electrical, Material Engineering, and related areas in universities in the US, Canada, Korea, Japan, France," Pangilinan said.
FISSION aims to address identified gaps that could impede the government's initiatives, such as the absence of expert safety regulators and technical professionals capable of operating nuclear technologies, specifically the small modular reactors or SMR and micro modular reactors or MMR.
Scheduled to run from 2025 to 2027, the two-year graduate program will be offered to graduates and practitioners in the fields of Mechanical, Electrical, Materials, and Metallurgical Engineering, Physics, and other related disciplines.
Last year, Meralco sought a United States Trade and Development Agency grant to generate additional funding to bankroll a feasibility study on nuclear energy.
The government had been supportive of the exploration of nuclear power as an energy source in line with the global push to reduce fossil fuel use due to its hazardous carbon emissions.
Nuclear energy could potentially energize small islands by putting up small modular nuclear power plants, especially in areas not yet connected to the main grid.
