Daily Tribune“In 2016, the DoE reiterated that nuclear power would be pursued as an option, possibly to take over some of coal’s baseload role. The timeline was, however, pushed back to a more realizable pace where the first power plant would be supplying electricity in 2027.
A solid nuclear policy that will result in producing the first commercially operating nuclear facility is among the goals of the current dispensation, building on the guidelines created under President Rodrigo Duterte.
Back in 2007, the Department of Energy (DoE) set up a project to study the development of nuclear energy in the context of an overall energy thrust.
After all, nuclear power has the strongest potential to reduce the country’s dependency on imported oil and coal.
In the 2008 update of the national energy plan, 600 megawatts of nuclear energy was planned to go online in 2025, with further increments of 600 MW in 2027, 2030 and 2034 to give 2400 MW.
Apart from the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), the government was considering two 1000 MW Korean Standard Nuclear Plant units, using equipment from the aborted North Korean KEDO project.
Kepco was reported to be offering this equipment for $1.1 billion, but it has since been redeployed elsewhere.
The government is considering Thailand or Korea as a model for a nuclear program, tapping their engineering consultants to guide the progress.
At the end of 2012, the DoE confirmed that going nuclear remained an option.
In 2016, the DoE reiterated that nuclear power would be pursued as an option, possibly to take over some of coal’s baseload role. The timeline was, however, pushed back to a more realizable pace where the first power plant would be supplying electricity in 2027.
In October 2016, the DoE created a nuclear energy program implementing organization (NEPIO) to assess the feasibility of nuclear power as a long-term energy option in accordance with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “milestones” approach.
Under the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) 2018-2040, the Nuclear Power Program Roadmap envisages the country’s first nuclear plant being commissioned in 2027 at the earliest.
The first of the three phases of the plan consisted of several pre-feasibility studies to identify critical infrastructure areas to be addressed before launching a nuclear power program.
In May 2017, a nuclear cooperation agreement was signed with Rosatom, followed by another in November 2017 setting out a five-year program of discussions.
The DoE signed a further agreement with Rosatom in October 2019 to assess the feasibility of a small nuclear power plant, floating or on land, and probably using RITM-200 reactors.
In February 2018, the DoE reported the possible inclusion of nuclear power in the current energy mix which is consistent with the national policy of a technology-neutral energy sector.
In December 2018, the IAEA concluded an integrated nuclear infrastructure review (INIR) at the request of the government.
The INIR team noted that legislation on nuclear safety, security and safeguards and the establishment of an independent regulatory body was necessary.
The team also noted that the country recognized the importance of open and transparent public communication, and recommended including a broader range of stakeholders in preparation for the introduction of nuclear power.
In July 2021, the DoE announced that it had identified 15 possible locations that could host a nuclear power plant.
In February 2022, President Duterte signed Executive Order 164, which mandated the DoE to develop and implement a nuclear program. The order required the NEP-IAC to “make recommendations on the use and viability of the Bataan nuclear power plant and the establishment of other facilities for the utilization of nuclear energy.”
In January 2023, preparations for a 123 Agreement establishing a legal framework for the transfer of US-origin special nuclear material, as well as the export of nuclear fuel, reactors, and equipment for peaceful use, were announced between the US and the Philippines.
In February 2024, the DoE established the Nuclear Energy Program Coordinating Committee to implement the country’s nuclear energy program.
The years since the scrapping of the BNPP operation when the program was up and running proved costly as the nation had to start from scratch when it was supposedly the pioneer in solving the energy supply problem.
