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NAST STATEMENT ON NUCLEAR POWER IN THE PHILIPPINES

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downloadThe increasing need coupled with a rising price of energy and environmental concerns associated with fossil-fuel use and other traditional sources of energy in the country generates a strong clamor for a cleaner and more sustainable alternative sources. The current administration is considering nuclear energy as a long-term option. In 2017, the Nuclear Energy Program Implementing Organization (NEP10) was set-up in the Department of Energy (DOE) to coordinate efforts and activities toward nuclear power development in the Philippines. Given these developments, it is necessary to revisit the country's nuclear energy plan. Nuclear power is not new in the Philippines, as the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) is a testament to a once-promising energy venture that was mothballed for enviropolitical reasons. The BNPP would have been the first operational nuclear power plant in Southeast Asia, but was abandoned in 1985. The Philippine government nonetheless continues to spend for its annual maintenance costs of some P 40-50 million pesos. 

GLOBAL TRENDS IN NUCLEAR POWER

There are 445 nuclear reactors in the world which are currently in operation and another 57 under construction. A total of 30 countries are involved in nuclear energy production including the US, France, China, Japan and Russia. The global capacity of nuclear power has progressively decreased due to changes in Western government policies and the shutdowns of reactors in Japan, Germany and the US. There is, however, an increase in global nuclear generation by 1.4 % in 2016 largely attributed to China's 23% rise. The nuclear power's share in total generation mix fell to 11% in 2015 but still corresponds to nearly a third of the world's low carbon electricity production.

In the ASEAN region, the primary demand for energy grew by 70% between 2000 and 2016. Threefourths of the region's energy production are based on fossil fuels. Vietnam is most serious about nuclear power as manifested by its agreement with Russia and Japan to build two plants. < Click to read the whole article >